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Subject: AP: Eight Seek E. Timor Presidency
Also AP: Eight Seek E. Timor Presidency; Guards on wish list as 500,000 prepare for E Timor vote East Timor announces 8 candidates to stand in presidential election By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press Writer DILI, East Timor, March 9 (AP) - East Timorese election authorities said Saturday that all eight candidates had been approved to contest this divided nation's presidential polls next month. But an official warned of a potential for fresh violence during a three-day appeal period that ends Tuesday in which members of the public can challenge in the East Timorese Supreme Court any of the candidates' right to stand. President Xanana Gusmao, long regarded as a uniting force in his fledgling democracy but who is himself coming under increasing public criticism, is stepping down after the April 9 poll that will choose the nation's second president since it broke away from Indonesia in 1999. His successor will be called on to steer the nation away from the brink of political and civil collapse. The eight candidates who were nominated to replace him had all passed the Supreme Court registration test, government election official Tomas do Rosario Cabral said Saturday on the deadline for the announcement. The field includes Gusmao's sole opponent at the last poll in 2002, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a founder of the dominant Fretilin Party. The candidates also include Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a close Gusmao ally, as well as Fernando Lasama, a candidate despised by Fretilin and a supporter of fugitive military commander Alfredo Reinado. Observers had feared the rejection of any candidate Saturday could have been a flash point for new violence. But the capital Dili, scarred by weeks of gang warfare, remanded relatively calm Saturday. Martinho Gusmao, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the National Electoral Commission which oversees the election process, said security was at risk during the appeal period. Gusmao, who is not related to the president, said he was pleased that official presidential candidates were eligible for U.N. bodyguards. "A few days ago, three candidates came to the president and asked him for security guarantees," Martinho Gusmao said, adding that no state security was provided. East Timor, one of the world's newest and poorest nations, was plunged into crisis a year ago when factional fighting broke out between police and army forces, leaving dozens dead and sending tens of thousands fleeing from their homes. The arrival of 2,700 foreign peacekeepers helped restore order, but tensions have flared in recent weeks, raising fears that presidential elections could be violent. ------------------------------------ Associated Press Saturday, March 10, 2007 8 Candidates Seek Presidency in E.Timor East Timorese election authorities said Saturday that all eight candidates were approved to contest this divided nation's presidential polls next month. But an official warned of a potential for fresh violence during a three-day appeal period that ends Tuesday in which members of the public can challenge in the East Timorese Supreme Court any of the candidates' right to stand. President Xanana Gusmao, long regarded as a uniting force in his fledgling democracy, but who is coming under increasing public criticism, is stepping down after the April 9 poll that will choose the nation's second president since it broke away from Indonesia in 1999. His successor will be called on to steer the nation away from the brink of political and civil collapse. The eight candidates who were nominated to replace him had all passed the Supreme Court registration test, government election official Tomas do Rosario Cabral said Saturday on the deadline for the announcement. The field includes Gusmao's sole opponent at the last poll in 2002, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a founder of the dominant Fretilin Party. The candidates also include Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a close Gusmao ally who in 1996 shared a Nobel Peace Price for nonviolent resistance to Indonesian rule. Observers had feared the rejection of any candidate Saturday could have been a flash point for new violence. But the capital Dili, scarred by weeks of gang warfare, remained relatively calm Saturday. East Timor, one of the world's newest and poorest nations, was plunged into crisis a year ago when factional fighting broke out between police and army forces, leaving dozens dead and sending tens of thousands fleeing from their homes. The arrival of 2,700 foreign peacekeepers helped restore order, but tensions have flared in recent weeks, raising fears that presidential elections could be violent. AAP March 10, 2007 ASIA: Guards on wish list as 500,000 prepare for E Timor vote Jill Jolliffe Dili March 9 Bodyguards are high on the wish list of some candidates campaigning to replace East Timor President Xanana Gusmao in a poll on April 9. With military operations against fugitive Alfredo Reinado continuing in the mountains and chronic violence simmering in the East Timorese capital, three of eight contenders have asked for close protection during campaigning. "Anything can happen in our current situation," 70-year-old Xavier do Amaral said, "It's best to be prepared." He accepted a UN offer of a bodyguard, while two others, Lucia Lobato and Fernando de Araujo, reportedly asked Gusmao to provide protection from his own security staff. When Amaral stood against the ex-guerrilla commander in the last presidential poll in 2001, it was to ensure that more than one candidate stood in East Timor's first free election. No one else was willing. By contrast, the 2007 poll promises to be closely fought between a range of politically experienced candidates. The choice reflects the high stakes after months of conflict during which the credibility of the formerly unchallenged government party Fretilin has been severely dented. All candidates had completed legal requirements to stand by yesterday, with campaigning due to start in earnest. Among those on the left is Fretilin veteran Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres, who has served as parliamentary speaker since 2001 and will have the full weight of the historic "Party of Liberation" behind him. Experienced analysts see Fretilin as a party strong among rural voters for its 24 year record of resistance against Indonesian occupation. Avelino Coelho da Silva of the Timorese Socialist Party (PST) is another sort of leftist. He is the closest to a Che Guevara East Timor can offer, and his firebrand oratory could attract younger voters. Fernando de Araujo of the Democratic Party (PD) was a founder of the student resistance movement to Indonesia, and later the cellmate of Xanana Gusmao. His party was the most-voted opposition party in parliamentary elections six years ago, but trailing far behind Fretilin's 57.8 per cent. He is identified with the rebellion against the Fretilin government in western regions. The only female candidate is Lucia Lobato, a young, articulate parliamentarian for the Social Democrat party, which polled closely behind the PD. The internationally best-known candidate is prime minister and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta, an independent. He swapped the office of foreign minister for prime minister last June after the fall from grace of Fretilin premier Mari Alkatiri. With Guterres and Lasama, he is a frontrunner, but the final result will depend on a trade-off of preferences and alliances if the contest goes to a second round. Ramos Horta's brother-in-law Joao Carrascalao, founder of the conservative Democratic Timorese Party (UDT) is also standing, along with monarchist Manuel Tilman, a deputy from the KOTA party, which advocates the restoration of the power of traditional chiefs. Amaral, Araujo, Lobato and Tilman, are of the Mambai ethnic group identified with Major Reinado's western revolt. They could siphon support from Fretilin's traditional voters in these districts, and benefit from the disaffected youth vote, but it promises to be a tightly fought battle. The UN and East Timor's international donors are pulling out all the stops to ensure the election goes ahead smoothly despite its volatile backdrop. According to Steven Wagensall, UN advisor to East Timor's independent National Electoral Commission, "Around 400,000 previous voters have been confirmed and we will have around 100,000 new cards-mainly of 17-year-olds voting for the first time, but also of people renewing cards lost or destroyed". He said advisers, communications and transport were being provided, along with generous technical support in all outlying districts. ------------------------------------------ Joyo Indonesia News Service Back to March 2007 menu |