Timor-Leste, Asia's youngest nation, votes for president

DILI • Polls closed in Timor-Leste yesterday after Asia's youngest nation held its fifth presidential election since independence, with political stability and economic security at the forefront of voters' minds.

The 16 presidential hopefuls include former resistance fighter and incumbent President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres, independence figure and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and a former Catholic priest.

While the nation's independence figures still dominate the field, for the first time there were also four female candidates, including Deputy Prime Minister Armanda Berta Dos Santos, 48.

Following temperature checks and hand sanitisation, voters were ushered to the polling booths where they dabbed their fingers in ink to show they had voted.

"We must choose a new generation so that we can build this country," said Mr Jorge Mendonca Soares, 42, after queueing patiently to vote at a polling booth in Dili, capital of the nation with a population of 1.32 million people.

"I hope the leader I have voted for can pay more attention to the education, infrastructure and farming sectors," Ms Filomena Tavares Maria, 35, said outside the polling stations that opened at 7am.

A recent survey by the national university showed Mr Ramos-Horta, 72, former defence forces commander Lere Anan Timur, 70, and Mr Guterres, 67, to be the favourites.

At the time polls closed at 3pm, some would-be voters in the capital had been unable to cast ballots due to residency requirements.

"Many cannot vote because they are not registered in the data as residents from outside the city of Dili," Mr Joao Ximenes, head of a voting station in Comoro, told Reuters. He added that two people had been arrested after a protest erupted at the polling station as a result.

Officials said it was not immediately clear how many people were affected by the rule.

Early indications of the front runners in the election were expected to emerge late yesterday.

If no candidate wins an outright majority, the vote will proceed to a run-off on April 19 between the top two contenders.

Approaching 20 years since independence after the end of a brutal occupation by Indonesia, Timor-Leste has for long spells struggled with political instability.

Hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, the economy took another hit last year when Cyclone Seroja struck, killing at least 40 people and transforming communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees.

After elections in 2018, Mr Guterres refused to swear in some ministers from the National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT), a political party led by former prime minister Xanana Gusmao. The ensuing political stalemate continues to this day.

Mr Ramos-Horta, who is backed by Mr Xanana's CNRT, last week said he was running because he felt the current president had "exceeded his powers".

Mr Guterres told reporters yesterday: "Whoever runs must be ready to win and be ready to lose... But I want to say I will win."

In Timor-Leste's political system, the president appoints a government and has the power to veto ministers or dissolve Parliament.

Economic diversification was a major issue in the election, as worries mount over the country's heavy dependence on dwindling supplies of oil and gas.

The role of young voters was also key, with an estimated 20 per cent of voters reaching the voting age of 17 in the past five years and casting their ballots for the first time.

First-time voter Marco de Jesus, 17, said he felt nervous but relaxed after help from polling staff.

"I feel proud to have carried out my function as a voter," he said from outside a polling station on Dili's waterfront. "I hope my choice can bring positive and useful change."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE