Ramos-Horta sweeps East Timor poll, EU endorses vote

DILI, May 11 (Reuters) Nobel Peace prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta won nearly 70 per cent of the votes in East Timor's presidential run-off, the election commission said today, as European Union monitors endorsed the handling of the poll.

The sweeping victory, which still needs to be signed off by the court of appeal, has increased hopes of unity in a poor nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia.

The mood in the capital Dili was calm on Friday, with no sign of celebration parades in the young nation or protests.

''I'm happy with the results. I will carry out my duties according to the constitution and listen to advice from everybody so that I can take Timor Leste to a better future,'' the 57-year-old Ramos-Horta, who is currently prime minister, said yesterday, referring to the official name of East Timor.

EU poll observers commended the way Wednesday's election was carried out after the first round a month ago was marred by complaints of widespread irregularities.

''The 9 May runoff presidential election has so far been well administered and peaceful, with respect for the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association,'' an EU spokesman said in a statement read out at a news conference.

Ramos-Horta and Francisco Guterres, a former independence fighter and president of the ruling Fretilin party, won the most votes in the first round, but none of the eight candidates won a clear majority, forcing the extra round.

All votes had now been counted at the district level, although some ballots were still on their way to Dili, election commission spokeswoman Maria Angelina Sarmento said.

Ramos Horta won 69 percent of votes, while Guterres got 31 percent.

Arsenio Bano, a Fretilin spokesman and labour minister, congratulated Ramos-Horta, a former journalist who spearheaded an overseas campaign for East Timor's independence.

''As a party, we will support the new president of the republic,'' Bano told Reuters, adding that the party had some complaints that it would present to the election commission.

''It was not a perfect election but we have to move forward. We have said we will win with dignity, we will lose with dignity.'' A regional split erupted into bloodshed last May after the sacking of 600 mutinous troops from the western region. Foreign troops were brought in to restore order but 30,000 people remain in camps across Dili, afraid to go home.

Ramos-Horta, who is widely viewed as more friendly to the West, has pledged to work closely with the international community and speed up economic development.

East Timor is rich in energy resources such as natural gas but is only beginning to exploit them. In the meantime, many of its 1 million people are unemployed and most are poor.

Outgoing President Xanana Gusmao will now run for the more hands-on post of prime minister in parliamentary polls on June 30.

Reuters AM DB0939