Whanganui MP Chester Borrows has travelled to Timor-Leste this week to be part of an international team scrutinising this weekend's parliamentary election.
Mr Borrows, along with Labour's Clayton Cosgrove - both due to retire from Parliament - were chosen to travel to the South East Asian nation because they were not involved in this year's New Zealand election.
Twenty-three parties are registered to contest the election of 65 members to the Timor-Leste National Parliament using a closed proportional representation system with a threshold of 3 per cent.
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, has a population of 3.5 million and Francisco Guterres was elected president in May.
"It's possible to take our smooth-running democracy for granted," Mr Borrows said.