Overview

• All 62 voting MPs approved a law repealing lifetime pensions for lawmakers and former presidents, prime ministers and cabinet ministers.
• The vote reverses a 2006 policy that entitled former MPs and some public officials to a pension equal to their salary.
• Lawmakers had already unanimously moved to cancel a $4.2 million plan to buy Toyota Prado SUVs for the 65-member parliament.
• Thousands of mostly student protesters rallied in Dili this month, with clashes reported as police used tear gas after rocks were thrown.
• MP Olinda Guterres urged students to end demonstrations after the vote, while activists said savings should support agriculture, health and education in a country where the World Bank says over 40 percent live in poverty.