Ramos-Horta set to win East Timor presidency for second time
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate garnered more than 60 per cent of votes counted on Wednesday, while incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres has earned 38.28 per cent
- Official results are expected next week, but Ramos-Horta suggested he may dissolve parliament and call for early elections, currently scheduled for next year
East Timor’s former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta is set to win the presidential run-off election, according to over 60 per cent of the votes counted on Wednesday, defeating incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres for the second time in Asia’s youngest democracy.
Official results are not expected until next week, but Ramos-Horta, who led resistance during Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor, had 61.72 per cent of the votes counted so far. Guterres was trailing with 38.28 per cent and had promised to accept the outcome.
The run-off was held peacefully on Tuesday. Ramos-Horta had a commanding lead in the first round but failed to exceed the 50 per cent threshold for the victory.
Ramos-Horta, East Timor’s president from 2007 to 2012, and Guterres have blamed each other for years of political paralysis. The two also squared off in a second round in 2007.
Ramos-Horta pledged to reduce poverty, improve health services for mothers and children and create more jobs if he is elected, and vowed to build communication with the governing parties to restore the nation’s political stability and prevent a more severe economic downturn.
The former Portuguese colony was occupied by Indonesia for a quarter century and gained independence after a UN-sponsored referendum in 1999. Indonesia’s military responded with scorched-earth attacks that devastated the East Timorese half of the island of Timor.
More than 76 per cent of the votes last month went to resistance-era figures, showing how much they dominate politics after two decades despite younger voices emerging.