East Timor Holds First Presidential Election - Xanana Gusmao Declared President of New Country

by Eva Titus

20 April 2002

Counting of ballots cast in East Timor's historic presidential election began the day after polls closed. About 380,000 people - 86% of registered electors - voted for the man they wanted to become president of East Timor when it would become a country on May 20. Independence leader and former guerilla commander Xanana Gusmao was officially declared the winner of East Timor's first presidential election. The election paved the way for East Timor to become the world's newest country. The official electoral commission announced Mr Gusmao won 83% of votes cast in the April 14, 2002 election, compared to just 17% for his only challenger, Francisco Xavier do Amaral. But the new president warned of challenge ahead for the new country.

The only opponent to Xanana Gusmao was the good-natured election, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, said he expected to lose but wanted to give voters a choice. Sealed ballot boxes were taken from polling stations to district counting centres where they were opened before local and international monitors.

The choosing of a president was the final step to nationhood for East Timor, which voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. It had been ruled by first Portugal and then Indonesia for centuries.

Chief electoral officer Carlos Valenzuela proclaimed the vote a success, after provisional estimates suggested a turnout of 86%. Voting started slowly on that Sunday morning but picked up significantly as people went to polling stations after attending church to celebrate Mass. The two candidates went together to their polling station in a school in the capital Dili and embraced before casting their votes.

Polling stations had been due to close at 1600 (0700 GMT) on April 14, polling day, but electoral officials said voters already in the queue were still allowed to cast their ballots after this time, as had been agreed earlier. The election went ahead very smoothly, with no reports of any serious trouble.

More than 86 percent of the electorate turned out on April 14 to choose between independence hero Xanana Gusmao, the expected winner, and his sole rival Francisco Xavier do Amaral. Chief Electoral Officer Carlos Valenzuela said counting was "continuing as scheduled without any problems" and that no official complaints had been received about the poll by the deadline of noon the following day. He said districts were checking the number of ballots against the number of voting slips issued.

"At this point no one has yet seen what is marked on each ballot."

In Dili, some 30 workers were counting ballots in the presence of international and national observers.

"We all know who will be our first president ... I do not think there are any doubts," said Miguel de Jesus, a student at the University of Timor Lorosae. But a close aide to 66-year-old Amaral, who gave his name as Flaviano, said the result was not a foregone conclusion.

"I will personally observe the ballot count here in Dili to make sure that there is no fraud," he said.

Gusmao and his campaign staff have reported attempts by supporters of the ruling Fretilin party to push people either to spoil their ballots or to vote for Amaral -- in an apparent bid to undermine Gusmao's majority as president and his future influence. Furthermore, Jose Ramos Horta has quietly been trying to undermine Gusmao's influence as it is well known he would like to be East Timor's president some time in the future for certain self-serving reasons. It is known through his wife, for instance, that for over twenty years Horta has stolen millions of dollars meant for aid within Timor. He holds numerous bank accounts around the world. He is a traitor and continues to use the Timorese issue for his own goals. He even arranged the murder of East Timorese who in the future could influence his ability to eventually take over the new country.

Gusmao led Fretilin's military wing in the fight for freedom during two decades of Indonesian occupation but had since distanced himself from the party and Ramos Horta. Fretilin did not officially back either candidate and future prime minister Mari Alkatiri had said he would not vote for either.

While the presidency would be a largely ceremonial post, analysts said there were areas of potential conflict between Gusmao and the future Fretilin-led executive government and with Ramos Horta. The presidential election was the third ballot in under three years.

In some districts, including the capital Dili, Mr Gusmao won more than 80% of valid votes cast, officials said. Dozens of Mr Gusmao's supporters clapped and cheered as the result was read out. Milena Pires, Mr Gusmao's campaign manger, said: "We have around 80% already, which is an excellent achievement".

Mr Gusmao's victory was applauded inside and outside East Timor. Australia, which led the UN peacekeeping force that dealt with the violence following East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, warmly welcomed Mr Gusmao's election. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said: "I think he'll make a truly fine president of East Timor".

In Indonesia, where East Timor's independence was strongly opposed by the military and conservative politicians, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda congratulated Mr Gusmao during a phone conversation. In a sign of Mr Gusmao's determination for reconciliation, he spoke of his desire to "enhance close relations with Indonesia" during the call, according to an Indonesian spokesman. Japan, which has also sent a big peacekeeping force to the half-island, said it would to extend "as much support as possible".

Landslide win

The official electoral commission announced Mr Gusmao won 83% of votes cast in Sunday's election, compared to just 17% for his only challenger, Francisco Xavier do Amaral. East Timor's Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri, who took office following the 2001 legislative elections, welcomed the result. He said his ruling Fretilin party would not be a source of conflict for Gusmao's new administration, as some analysts feared.

"I have come here to congratulate Xanana Gusmao. I do this from the bottom of my heart, believe it or not," he said.

Mr Gusmao, 55, had been the overwhelming favourite to win. He was widely regarded as a symbol of East Timor's struggle for independence since it was invaded and annexed by Indonesia in 1975. His opponent claimed he had only taken part to allow people a choice, and had been instructed by the United Nations to run so that it would not look like a coronation of Xanana, which in fact it was.

East Timor warned of challenge ahead

East Timor's newly elected president, Xanana Gusmao, spoke of the "great challenge" facing the fledgling nation in the following five years.

"The expectations are high, the anxieties and necessities are enormous," Mr Gusmao told a news conference after the official announcement of his runaway victory in East Timor's first presidential poll. East Timor would become one of the poorest countries in Asia once it assumed full independence the following month. It also faced big problems in areas such as health and local government.

Xanana Gusmao

East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao was always the front-runner to become the president of the world's newest country, whether he liked it or not. He had repeatedly said he did not want the job, insisting he would rather be a pumpkin farmer or a photographer. But ever since East Timor voted to break away from Indonesian rule in August 1999, there had been no other serious contender. The former guerrilla leader became a legend among his people and had the high-profile reputation that East Timor hopes would help build a stable country.

As East Timor headed towards independence on May 20, Mr Gusmao pledged to open the country to foreign investment and work for reconciliation with former pro-Indonesian militiamen. Critics said he lacked firm policies, but he headed for a landslide whatever he said.

"If you vote for me, I promise to carry whatever burden you put on my shoulder," he told a cheering crowd, days before the April 14 presidential election.

Political tension

Mr Gusmao, who fought an armed rebellion against Indonesian rule for two decades, spent more than six years in an Indonesian prison and under house arrest. He was released on September 7, 1999, just days after East Timor's landmark referendum result was announced. The vote sparked a wave of bloodshed led by pro-Indonesia militias opposed to independence.

Mr Gusmao made it clear he favoured an amnesty for those accused of the violence - putting him at odds with his former political party, Fretilin, which controlled the legislature elected in August 2001. There were reports of tensions between the two, with Mr Gusmao making veiled attacks on unnamed government members for leading a lavish and corrupt lifestyle while normal people went without basic healthcare and education. Most understand he was primarily referring to Ramos Horta. Fretilin (Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor) was unhappy that Mr Gusmao ran for the presidency as an independent candidate because in this post he would be an obstacle to those who would lead an oppulent, corrupt raja lifestyle not unlike that of Indonesia's opressive, brutal and extremely corrupt former presdient, Suharto.

'Poet warrior'

A charismatic man of the people, Mr Gusmao vowed to devote his five-year term to being the people's "eyes, ears and mouth". But with so much to live up to, critics fear he could turn into the kind of leader Mr Gusmao himself criticised.

"No, I do not want to become president, because if you look at almost every revolutionary struggle, the leaders who are there while in opposition become leaders of a new nation and they have nothing more to give,' he once said.

Born in the town of Manatuto on June 20, 1946 Jose Alexandre Gusmao was the second son in a family of nine children. He spent four years at a Jesuit seminary in Dare, in the hills overlooking Dili, and attended Dili High School. He did three years compulsory service in the colonial Portuguese forces and later worked in the local government department of the colonial administration.

While in prison he wrote poetry and painted, earning the description "poet warrior". It added to the mythological status he attained during his life in the jungle. One such myth was that he had powers to turn into a creature to evade capture.

Mr Gusmao was expecting a second child with his second wife, long-time Australian partner Kirsty Sword whom he married in July 2000. He also has two children from a previous marriage.