East Timor announces 8 candidates to stand in presidential election

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.

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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.


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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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