East Timor's official television and radio station's have begun broadcasting the second round of campaign messages allotted political parties and independent candidates contesting the August 30 constituent assembly elections.

The so-called "antenna time" broadcasts were recorded with the aid of an independent producer and are part of the political party support initiative overseen by East Timor's UN transition administration (UNTAET).

East Timorese voters will on August 30 elect the 88 members of an assembly whose main duty will be to draw up the future national constitution. The campaign period began on July 15, with 16 political parties registered, along with a number of independent candidates. The second round of campaign messages first went on the air Monday night and will be broadcast daily through next weekend, when the next group will be recorded.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has rejected UNTAET's political party support package, has not made use of its antenna time and has likewise declined to take part in a meeting with journalists at Radio UNTAET, one of the territory's three official media outlets.

Also on Monday, officials of the Political Party Support Center in Dili delivered 13 of the 16 cars earmarked for the parties taking part in the election under terms of the support package. Three parties – the PSD, Fretilin and Parentil – have yet to collect the cars assigned to them, along with drivers, for the duration of the campaign period.

Independent candidates do not have the right to cars but have been granted priority access to daily bus links between Dili and the 13 districts of East Timor.