East Timor set for presidential election run-off

Dili, May 6: Tiny East Timor holds a presidential run-off on Wednesday, facing a choice between Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and a guerrilla fighter-turned-politician.

The first-round vote a month ago brought complaints of widespread irregularities, stoking concerns of instability in a poor nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia.

Ramos-Horta and parliament chief Francisco Guterres -- known as ''Lu'Olo'', his nickname during the fight for nationhood -- took the most votes in the first round but none of the eight candidates won a clear majority, forcing a run-off poll.

Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner who spearheaded an overseas campaign for East Timor's independence, appears to be the frontrunner after five of the first-round losing candidates urged their supporters to switch their support.

In a move seen by some as a bid for wider backing, Ramos-Horta has urged international troops to stop hunting Alfredo Reinado, a fugitive army renegade who enjoys support among the young from the country's west who feel disenfranchised. Last August, Reinado escaped from a prison where he was being held on charges of involvement in a wave of violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes.

Last year's violence erupted after the government of then-prime minister Mari Alkatiri sacked 600 soldiers who complained of discrimination.

Foreign troops were called in to restore order but more than 30,000 people remain in refugee camps across the capital, Dili, too afraid to return home.

Guterres, president of the powerful Fretilin party, has accused Ramos-Horta of abusing his power by calling off the hunt for Reinado for political gain. Ramos-Horta denied the charge, saying Reinado himself had approached the church and the attorney-general, offering to negotiate his peaceful surrender.

Fretilin, which led resistance against Indonesian rule, remains popular and is the dominant party in parliament.

Gusmao For Prime Minister?

Ramos-Horta is also backed by outgoing President Xanana Gusmao. The bearded independence hero, who did not run for re-election, plans to seek the more hands-on post of prime minister in parliamentary polls in June.

East Timor's presidential post is largely ceremonial but many hope the winner will unite a nation beset by regional rivalry, rebellious security forces and disillusionment among citizens five years after the joyous celebrations of independence.

After the technical hitches of the April 9 vote, the United Nations mission in East Timor said lessons had been learned.

Finn Reske-Nielsen, deputy U.N. mission chief in East Timor, said a voter education campaign was being carried out to ensure higher turn-out and to reduce the number of invalid votes.

Despite the shortcomings in the first round, fears of violence did not materialise and political analyst Julio Thomas said the prospect of unrest after the run-off vote was slim.

''I don't believe that the losing candidate will spark violence,'' said Thomas of the University of Timor Leste..

Dili has been calm since supporters of rival candidates clashed on April 4 during campaigning for the first round ballot.

Reuters>