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Associated Press

A former guerrilla fighter vowed on Saturday to keep peace and unity as East Timor’s new president, delivering a victory speech after the final tally showed he was on course to win the election.
Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres received 57 per cent of the vote in Monday’s election, according to final figures announced late Friday. His main rival, Antonio da Conceicao, got 32 per cent. The remaining votes were divided among six other candidates.
The results released by the National Election Office still need to be vetted by the court of appeals before they are official.
While East Timor’s president has a mostly ceremonial role, the prime minister heads the government.
East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in 1999 to end 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation that killed more than 170,000 people.

Indonesia’s military and pro-Indonesian militias responded to the independence referendum with scorched earth attacks that devastated the East Timorese half of the island.
Lu-Olo received a visit from da Conceicao conceding the election soon after the final results were released on Friday.
Da Conceicao, the current minister of education and social affairs, said he had accepted the result.
“He was a guerrilla fighter during our resistance time. He deserved the people’s trust and I’ll always respect him,” da Conceica said of his rival.
Lu-Olo welcomed the concession and gave a victory speech at his residence.
“I’ll be president for all people in East Timor, even those who didn’t vote for me,” he told a crowd of supporters. “I’ll keep fighting for peace and unity of our nation.”

Lu-Olo led guerrilla attacks against occupying troops from the hills, rising quickly through the ranks. Eventually, he became the rebels’ top commander.
It was his third attempt to win the presidency since 2007, when Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, secured an easy victory over him in a second-round vote. Lu-Olo lost to current President Taur Matan Ruak in the 2012 election, but this time he had strong support from resistance hero and former Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who remains influential in politics.


Ex-guerrilla fighter vows to ‘keep fighting for peace and unity’ after winning East Timor election

East Timor's Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres speaks to his supporters during a campaign rally in Tasitolu, Dili. Photo: EPA

epa05861503 Supporters of East Timor's Presidential Candidate from Fretilin party Francisco Guterres Lu'Olo shout slogans as Guterres arrives at Fretilin's headquarter in Dili, East Timor (also known as Timor Leste), 21 March 2017. Guterres leads the vote as eight candidates are competing for the presidential. The country gained their independence from Indonesia in 2002. EPA/ANTONIO DASIPARU

East Timor presidential candidate and former guerrilla fighter, Francisco Guterres, known by his nom de guerre "Lu-Olo", casts his ballot in the presidential election in Dili on March 20, 2017. East Timor went to the polls on March 20 to elect a president in Asia's youngest nation as it struggles to get on a firmer economic footing 15 years after gaining independence. / AFP PHOTO / VALENTINO DARIEL SOUSA

Australia bows to East Timor to kill controversial gas field treaty

The existing maritime boundary is aligned with Australia’s continental shelf, but East Timor has long argued the border should lie half way between it and Australia and put more of the Greater Sunrise field under its jurisdiction.

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Australian troops conduct an operation to flush out militia in Dili, 24 September 1999. The operation began within minutes of an agreement signed to give more power to the UN forces. AFP PHOTO

TO GO WITH AFP STORY AUSTRALIA-TIMOR-GAS-COMPANY (FILES) An undated handout photo shows the Cossack Pioneer oil production facility of Australian resources giant Woodside located off the North-West coast of Australia. Woodside warned 28 July 2004 that it may abandon its multi-billion dollar Timor Sea oil and gas project in a move that would threaten the economy of East Timor, one of the world's most impoverished nations. A boundary dispute between East Timor and Australia centres on a demand from East Timor that the border of the oil field between the two countries be redrawn to half way between the countries as the Australian government has been accused of trying to bully the fledging nation, by claiming two thirds of the continental shelf, citing an agreement with Indonesia who East Timor gained their independence from. AFP PHOTO

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