[3] Lay subsequently pursued a political career as a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party.

[1] She first gained a seat in the National Parliament of East Timor in the 2007 elections, taking office on August 6, 2007.

[1] Since 2010, she has served as secretary of her national group at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

[1] On June 17, 2020, Lay made headlines for her involvement in a verbal and physical fight on the floor of the National Parliament with fellow legislator Olinda Guterres.

She criticized Guterres in turn for allegedly having made racist comments, saying that the rival lawmaker had called her a china pirata ("Chinese pirate").