EAST TIMOR: Officials start counting ballots in East Timor presidential run-off vote

Election officials begin counting votes cast in East Timor's presidential run-off poll between Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and former guerrilla Francisco Guterres. Voting in East Timor's presidential run-off officially ended on Wednesday and election officials began counting the ballots cast for Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and former guerrilla fighter Francisco Guterres. The first round a month ago brought complaints of widespread irregularities, adding to concerns about instability in a poor nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia. After polls closed , officials unfolded and displayed each ballot paper before the count. Other officials then registered the count on giant white-boards visible to all. Counting across the tiny nation was expected to be completed by Friday (May 11). One voter, Tomas da Costa, told Reuters outside a vote counting centre in the capital Dili: "The election winner must solve our country's crisis, otherwise to win and not solve our problems makes one a useless leader." Ramos-Horta and Guterres -- a former independence fighter nicknamed "Lu'Olo" and president of the ruling Fretilin party -- won the most votes in the first round, but none of the eight candidates had a clear majority. Ramos-Horta is regarded as friendlier towards the West and economic globalisation, while Fretilin takes a more leftist and nationalist line. Both sides say they want to encourage foreign investment. Although the benefits have yet to flow significantly way to many of its poor, East Timor is rich in energy resources such as offshore natural gas and produces a much sought-after variety of coffee. Ramos Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who spearheaded an overseas campaign for East Timor's independence, appeared to have the edge after five of the first-round losers urged their supporters to vote for him. A regional split erupted into bloodshed last May after the sacking of 600 mutinous troops from the western region. Foreign troops were brought in to restore order but 30,000 people remain in camps across Dili, too afraid to go home. The United Nations mission in East Timor has said 1,700 U.N. police will be deployed across the country for the elections, backed by international troops. It was estimated that more than 270 foreign observers and about 2,000 local observers were monitoring the vote. The U.N. chief electoral officer, Steven Wagenseil, said preliminary results were expected late on Friday. JD/AD

ITN Source | May 9, 2007

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