Voting starts in East Timor parliamentary election

DILI, June 30 (Reuters) East Timorese voted today in a parliamentary election that could put the impoverished, young country on a new path after communal violence last year.

Streams of people in the former Portuguese colony queued quietly from the early morning to cast their ballots in the third election in three months, following a presidential vote and run-off.

There are 14 parties contesting the poll, widely regarded as a showdown between the ruling Fretilin party and CNRT, a party launched by charismatic resistance hero, Xanana Gusmao.

After serving as president, Gusmao now wants the more hands-on post of prime minister.

''I don't care which party is elected, but I hope one of the 14 will soon form a good government and national parliament so that our interests are defended by creating jobs and setting laws for our nation that soon end the crisis,'' Joao Pinto, 35, said at a polling station in the capital.

The Fretilin government sacked 600 rebellious soldiers to trigger violence last May that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes. Foreign troops had to be brought in to restore order.

The election campaign was mostly peaceful and security in the capital today was low-key.

Preliminary results from the election may not emerge before early next week, officials say. In 2002, East Timor won independence after 24 years of Indonesian rule.

Bad weather had caused concerns about the logistics of the election in more remote parts of the country but UN officials said they were confident the voting would go smoothly.

President Jose Ramos-Horta told Reuters in an interview yesterday East Timor's leaders needed to unite to fight poverty and improve security.

Julio Tomas Pinto of the University of Timor Leste said he did not expect either Fretilin or CNRT to win a clear majority in the 65-seat parliament.

''I predict both will get about 20 seats in parliament but to form the government in parliament they each need 35 or 34 seats in parliament so they will have to form a coalition with other parties,'' he told Reuters Television.

The tiny, predominantly Catholic country is one of the world's poorest but is starting to tap rich energy resources that over time could significantly raise standards of living.

Ramos-Horta said the country should use interest earned from a 1.2 billion dollars oil fund, together with international aid and, possibly, bilateral borrowing to create jobs and slash poverty.

Reuters KK VP0550