East Timor's assembly has approved a constitution in one of the last steps toward independence on May 20th.
The 88-member constituent assembly endorsed the draft this morning with 72 in favour, 14 against, one abstention and one absentee, a United Nations spokesman said.
Each member was due to sign the document in the afternoon.
The proposed constitution provides for a republic with the president as head of state and the prime minister holding executive power. The president will be elected every five years and the prime minister will be chosen by the one-chamber parliament.
The territory, now under UN administration, will make the final move towards independence on April 14th when it elects a president. Former guerrilla fighter Mr Xanana Gusmao is widely expected to win easily.
Veteran resistance party Fretilin (the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor) won 55 assembly seats in elections held on August 30th, 2001, the second anniversary of a UN-organised referendum that produced a four-to-one vote for independence from Indonesia.
The party's military wing headed by Mr Gusmao led armed resistance to Indonesian rule but he has since distanced himself from Fretilin and is standing as an independent.
East Timor has been under UN administration since its independence vote sparked a bloodshed and destruction by army-backed pro-Jakarta militias.
AFP