Social Democratic Party (East Timor)

Social Democratic Party
Partido Social Democrata
LeaderZacarias da Costa
Founded20 September 2000
HeadquartersDili
IdeologyLiberalism[citation needed]
Social conservatism[citation needed]
Political positionCentre[citation needed]
ColoursOrange
Party flag

The Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata) is an East Timorese party founded on 20 September 2000.[1] Despite its name, the party, like its Portuguese model, is usually categorised as centre-right in the political spectrum (conservative, Christian democratic). It describes itself as being in the middle between left and right (centrist).[citation needed] The aim of the party's founders was to offer voters a moderate alternative to Fretilin and UDT. In 2002, the party had 8,000 members. Since then, the PSD has lost its importance. The PSD did not contest the 2023 parliamentary elections in East Timor.

The PSD was one of five parties in the Alliance of the Parliamentary Majority (AMP) coalition in East Timor's national parliament, which formed the government between 2007 and 2012.

  1. ^ Paige Johnson Tan: Political Society, Parties, and Democracy, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Retrieved 16 April 2012.