2016 East Timorese local elections

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East Timor held local elections to choose Village Chiefs (Chefe do Suco) and village council delegates (Conselho do Suco) in 442 sucos (villages), and Hamlet Chiefs (Chefe do Aldeia) in 2,225 aldeias (communities). The first round was on 29 October 2016 and the second round on 13 November 2016. Elected officials serve seven-year terms.

The elections were originally scheduled for 9 October 2015 but were postponed by Parliament. On 5 July 2016, Law No. 09/2016, known as the Law of Sucos, set out how the elections are run. The law does not provide for overseas voting.

Election rules:
- Village Council delegates are elected by a winner-take-all system; the male and female candidates with the most valid votes win. The Village Council members then indirectly elect youth and Lian-na'in (traditional authority) representatives.
- Village Chief and Hamlet Chief elections require more than half of the valid votes to win. If no candidate achieves a majority, a second round is held.

The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration and the National Election Commission conducted the elections.

Results:
- 21 women were elected as Village Chiefs.
- In the first round, about 142 of the 442 sucos elected Village Chiefs (6 of them women). In the second round, 15 women were elected as Village Chiefs from 300 sucos that held a second round. This was an increase from 11 women elected as Village Chiefs in 2009.