UN Praises East Timor Election, Offers Support for Second Round

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By Aaron Sheldrick

April 19 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations said it welcomed the results of voting in East Timor's first presidential election last week and offered support for a second round after no candidate achieved enough votes to win the poll outright.

Former guerrilla leader Francisco `Lu'Olo' Guterres of the ruling Fretilin Party won 28 percent of the vote and will run against Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, who received 22 percent. East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, declared independence in 2002 after 24 years of Indonesian occupation. The second round will be held on May 9.

The UN is ``particularly pleased that the first round of the election was completed without any serious incidents of violence and intimidation during the campaign,'' spokeswoman Michele Montas told reporters in New York yesterday.

A court will rule on disputed vote counting after candidates protested the results. The court has about 72 hours to review and decide the final result, Gusmao Martinho, spokesman for the Southeast Asian nation's electoral committee, said on April 16.

A revision won't affect preparations for the second round of voting because no candidate ``got anywhere near the 50 percent plus one required'' in the first round, Gusmao said.

The UN welcomed the fact ``that candidates have made full use of the appropriate legal channels to raise their concerns about the process,'' Montas said. ``These elections will have the benefit of considerable assistance from the international community, including through the United Nations.''

Facing Challenges

The new president will face the challenge of trying to reverse a contraction in the economy in 2006, cutting the country's 50 percent unemployment rate and improving conditions for East Timor's more than 1 million people, 42 percent of whom live below the poverty line.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon ``calls on the international community to continue providing assistance as Timor-Leste works to complete this year's electoral process and to address challenges related to the security sector, the rule of law, governance and development,'' Montas said.

The court may decide to hold ballots again in districts where inconsistencies were recorded, Gusmao said on April 13. Most of the candidates for president lodged protests with the committee alleging the election was unfair.

There won't be as full recount of votes, Gusmao said. ``There is no recommendation as such.''

More than 300,000 votes were recorded in the Bacau district, where only about 100,000 voters are registered, Gusmao said.

``It was a human error,'' he said. ``The polling staff put the wrong code in the box and we got a record of more votes than there were in that district.''

Candidates Complain

Fretilin members complained about election officials in rural districts accepting registration cards or photocopies of passports as identification, party spokesman Arsenio Bano said last week. The more than 522,000 registered voters had to present either a passport or official identity card issued by the committee in order to be allowed to vote.

Nobel peace prize winner Ramos Horta, who is running as an independent, said last week 30 percent of registered voters hadn't cast a ballot and demanded an investigation and recount.

Democratic Party candidate Fernando De Araujo came third with about 18 percent of the vote and protested to the committee about the balloting.

``I suspect a lot of manipulation,'' he said on April 11.

More than 2,000 observers monitored the election, including teams from the European Union, Australia and Japan. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in Canberra last week he was concerned at reports of ``voter irregularities.''

Providing Security

UN police and members of an Australian-led peacekeeping force, which includes soldiers from New Zealand, provided security at the 504 polling stations and for candidates.

East Timor, which lies about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Australia, has been unstable since former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, a Fretilin member, fired a third of the army last May, a move that provoked clashes between people from the eastern and western regions, resulting in 37 deaths.

In the past year, fighting between factions of the security forces and gang violence drove 150,000 people from their homes. The Australian-led contingent has been stationed in Dili since shortly after the unrest began.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net .