Gusmao wins E. Timor's 1st presidential election

0 Comments | Asian Political News, April 22, 2002

DILI, East Timor, April 17 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH GUSMAO'S PRESS CONFERENCE)

Former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao has won a landslide victory in East Timor's first presidential election, garnering more than 82% of the vote, the U.N. Independent Electoral Commission announced Wednesday.

In the final tally, Gusmao won 301,634 votes, or 82.69%, of the total valid votes of 364,780, while his sole challenger, Legislative Assembly Vice President Francisco Xavier do Amaral, obtained 63,146 votes, or 17.31%, the commission said.

Voter turnout in Sunday's election was 86.3% of the estimated 430,000 eligible voters.

''It is with enormous gratitude and humility that I received the trust that the people have put in me,'' Gusmao said during a press conference attended by U.N. Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello and presidential runner-up do Amaral

''By the decision of the majority of our people, I am the elected president, and I become a president for the whole nation, not only those who voted for me,'' Gusmao said.

''The next five years will constitute a great challenge, a serious challenge -- not only for our government, but also for all civil society and all the democratic institutions of our country. It will also be a challenge for me as president. And of course, it is a challenge for all our people.''

Gusmao reinforced his campaign pledges, saying he would work for national reconciliation, strong international relations, investment, national development, democracy, good governance and freedom of the press.

The president-elect also pledged to work closely and constructively after independence on May 20 with the government expected to be led by Mari Alkatiri, who currently serves as chief minister in the East Timorese transitional government and is likely to become independent East Timor's first prime minister.

Earlier Wednesday, de Mello called on Gusmao at his campaign headquarters to congratulate him and to invite the president-elect to meet with him and Alkatiri on Thursday to discuss the final weeks of transition from U.N. administration to independence.

De Mello said they would also discuss a U.N. Security Council meeting to be held in New York next Wednesday, which is expected to be attended by both East Timorese leaders, and preparations for the independence celebrations to climax in the May 20 handover ceremony.

''I want to whole-heartedly congratulate my friend Xanana Gusmao for his victory. I trust that Xanana Gusmao will devote his infinite energy and will to fulfilling the noble pledges he made during the campaign,'' de Mello said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Alkatiri pledged to work closely with Gusmao, telling reporters, ''If I am chosen prime minister of the new government, I will do all in my power to create sound relations between the presidency, parliament and government.''

Alkatiri is a key member of Fretilin, the Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of East Timor, which holds 53 seats in the 88-member Legislative Assembly.

Gusmao formerly led the military wing of Fretilin, which spearheaded the 24-year armed struggle against Indonesian occupation, but his relations with the party have since become strained at times.

After the East Timorese people in August 1999 voted overwhelmingly in a U.N.-organized referendum to separate from Indonesia and become independent, Gusmao has purposefully distanced himself from competing political parties to preserve national unity.

Analysts have predicted that differences of opinion between Gusmao and Alkatiri, along with Francisco Guterres, head of the Legislative Assembly who comes from Fretilin, will affect the political landscape in a democratic East Timor.

Gusmao, however, played down his open differences with Alkatiri, saying small differences are ''very healthy.''

''I can tell you in 20 years of our struggle, we will not be absolutely united,'' he said. ''We're united in terms of supreme goals, not in our daily political life.''

In the capital Dili, where Gusmao's victory had long been predicted, 21-year-old waitress Amelia da Costa said Gusmao ''will face a heavy task in the next five years to rebuild East Timor from its destruction.''

''The burden on his shoulders is very heavy, but I believe he could bring the nation to a brighter future,'' she said.

Felix Rodrigues, 28, who works at a construction company, said Gusmao must achieve the promises he had made during the election campaign, including making the economy better.

''There have been so many complaints from those who claim to have been involved in the independence struggle about their poor lives,'' Rodrigues said. ''They want Gusmao to reward them for their contributions.''