Timor-Leste prepares to determine who its new leader will be as
the presidential got underway on Wednesday morning. Around 600,000
voters are expected at the 705 polling stations in the country's 13
electoral districts.
According to electoral commission spokesman Martinho Gusmao, one
of the two candidates, Francisco Guterres Lu Olo, former resistance
fighter and current Parliament will vote in the capital, Dili, with
his rival, Timor-Leste's prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Jose Ramos Horta electing to cast his ballot in Baucao
district, a stronghold of his Fretelin party.
272 foreign observers are on hand to ensure no rigging occurs.
This election, should it be determined to have occurred fairly,
would bring hope to the developing country since it stands as the
first presidential and parliamentary election since Timor-Leste
obtained independence from Indonesia in May 2002.
This marks a democratic resurgence in Timor-Leste after chaos
engulfed the nation last April which left 23 people dead.
The sacking of 600 military figures by controversial former
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri triggered resistance which spilled
over to gang warfare across the new country. Australia intervened,
leading a multi-national force, which brought peace to the streets
of Dili.
On Tuesday, chief EU observer Jose Javier Pomes Ruis said that
Timor-Leste would continue receiving international support
regardless of who won the election.
"The international support to Timor-Leste does not depend on the
(presidential election) winner. Timor-Leste needs to develop. It is
the poorest country of the world, and all the international
community must help the development of this country to solve its
political and economic crisis," he said.
Ruis encouraged a strong melding of national and international
support to fully reach the country's maximum economic development
potential, while also pledging full EU help to Timor-Leste.
Ruis called for more international investment to help
Timor-Leste's economy take flight and enter the worldwide economy
market whilst also helping solving crippling domestic problems such
as rampant unemployment.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called for peaceful
reactions to what he hoped would be a successful election on
Tuesday.
"I trust that in this second round, the turnout will be just as
enthusiastic as in the first," he said." I call upon both
candidates and their supporters to react to the results in a
peaceful manner, and to raise any concerns they may have about the
process through the appropriate legal channels."
He stressed that the United Nations would always remain on hand
to help the Timorese people to accomplish development, peace and
democracy..
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2007)
