EAST TIMOR: Provisional results show former army chief and guerrilla fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos leading in country's Presidential elections
Record ID:
327748
EAST TIMOR: Provisional results show former army chief and guerrilla fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos leading in country's Presidential elections
- Title: EAST TIMOR: Provisional results show former army chief and guerrilla fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos leading in country's Presidential elections
- Date: 18th April 2012
- Summary: DILI, EAST TIMOR (APRIL 17, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EAST TIMOR ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL ELECTION COMMITTEE ELECTION BANNER OUTSIDE THE COMMITTEE EAST TIMOR ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL ELECTION COMMITTEE WORKING
- Embargoed: 3rd May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Timor-Leste
- Country: Timor-Leste
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAE7DEJ9RRVFX2RB4NKJHQ58WSM
- Story Text: Provisional results have put former army chief and guerrilla fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos ahead in East Timor's presidential elections, an election official said on Tuesday (April 17).
Vasconcelos, known as Taur Matan Ruak, won about 61 percent of the 452,000 votes that have been counted so far, Tomas Cabral, an election commission official, told reporters in the capital Dili.
His competitor, former independence fighter Francisco Guterres "Lu Olo", from the opposition Fretilin party, got 38.8 percent of the votes, provisional results counted so far showed.
The final results will be recounted by an independent election commission before being made official by East Timor's High Court.
The election commission said voter participation had declined to 73 percent this year.
"The percentage of voters in the election has declined to 73 percent, but it is pretty good result in comparison with other countries that only have 30 to 50 percent of participation, because in East Timor voting in the election is not an obligation," Cabral said.
He said the decrease could be partly due to people's fear of intimidation.
"The election participation was down due to the lack of attractive campaigns from these candidates, the lack of mobilization of supporters and the public's fear of intimidation," Cabral said.
The president plays little role in policy but is vital in underpinning stability in impoverished East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a bloody struggle.
Dili residents hope that if Taur is elected, he will work to solve the country's economic problems, including youth unemployment.
"If Taur becomes the president of East Timor, we expect more attention to be paid to younger generations as many of them are unemployed," said Teo Filio Gomes, in Dili.
Economic issues have topped the agenda for many voters as 41 percent of East Timor's 1.2 million people live on less than 0.88 U.S. dollars per day, a World Bank Report showed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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