Independence leader and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta yesterday declared victory in East Timor’s presidential election, saying that he had secured “overwhelming” support and would now work to foster dialogue and unity.
Data from the nation’s election body STAE with all votes counted showed that Ramos-Horta secured a decisive 62 percent win in Tuesday’s ballot, well ahead of his opponent, East Timorese President Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres with 37 percent.
“I have received this mandate from our people, from the nation in an overwhelming demonstration of our people’s commitment to democracy,” Ramos-Horta told reporters in Dili.
The 72-year-old statesman is one of East Timor’s
DILI, East Timor (AP) Voters in East Timor are choosing a president in a runoff Tuesday between former independence fighters who’ve blamed each other for years of political paralysis.
People across East Timor yesterday went to the polls to choose either a Nobel laureate or a former guerrilla fighter the incumbent president as their next leader.
Front-runner Jose Ramos-Horta has pledged to break a longstanding deadlock between the two main political parties in Southeast Asia’s youngest nation should he win the runoff election against East Timorese President Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres.
“If I win . I will hold a dialogue with political parties, including [Guterres’] Fretilin, so they can work together to maintain stability and peace,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner told journalists yesterday, holding aloft a finger stained purple
East Timor vote highlights young nation s political impasse durangoherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from durangoherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DILI, East Timor (AP) Voters in East Timor cast ballots for president on Saturday in an election that will test the young nation’s stability amid a protracted political crisis and economic uncertainty.