Dili – East Timor's Constituent Assembly today set 9 March as the date for completion and final approval of the nation's first Constitution.

An Assembly working commission produced a revised constitutional debate schedule over the weekend after the full Assembly voted Friday to extend its deliberations. Seventy Assembly members voted Monday in favour of the new schedule, one opposed and three abstained.

All 151-articles of the draft Constitution are expected to be approved by the end of January. The Portuguese-language document must then be translated into Tetum and distributed to various civil groups for review. The final text is scheduled to be ready by 5 March, and a formal promulgation vote and ceremony is to be held on 9 March.