Notícias em inglês

Agence France-Presse - Thursday, April 12, 2007

Ramos-Horta Demands ETimor Vote Recount

East Timor presidential runoff candidate Jose Ramos-Horta said Thursday the United Nations should explain why 30 percent of voters did not cast a ballot in the first round and demanded a recount. "It seems like at least 30 percent of voters did not vote," he told reporters. "Why? I don't know." "There has to be an investigation," the tiny state's current prime minister said. "I ask the UN for an explanation."

The presidential contest is scheduled to be decided in a May 8 runoff between Ramos-Horta and the ruling Fretilin party's Francisco Guterres after a tight first round, held on Monday, ended in stalemate.

The poll was the first presidential election since East Timor's independence in 2002 and was described by international observers as generally open, orderly and peaceful.

But Ramos-Horta said it was an open question why more than 150,000 people did not vote from about 520,000 registered to cast a ballot. "Were they intimidated or simply did not show up?" he asked, adding many people had doubts about the election in the former Portuguese colony. "I think there should be another count," said Ramos-Horta, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize for championing East Timor's cause when it was occupied by Indonesia from 1974 to 1999.

Five losing candidates from the eight who stood to replace President Xanana Gusmao have also demanded a recount, alleging the election was undermined by intimidation, problems with the count and other issues.

"Today I heard that several boxes of ballot papers were found last night, from Dili, that had not been counted," Ramos-Horta said, referring to East Timor's capital.

The poll was organised by local officials and observers reported a high turnout from Timorese desperate to end the poverty and bloodshed that has scarred their young nation.
"I will have to evaluate myself whether the UN here has done what they should have done to assist the East Timorese in having fair elections, or were they too marginal - too passive and watching?" Ramos-Horta said.

Guterres, the former guerrilla popularly known as Lu Olo, took 28.79 percent of the vote and Ramos-Horta 22.6 percent, according to provisional figures from the national election commission.

Foreign peacekeepers have been on the streets of East Timor, formally known as Timor-Leste, for nearly a year after gang violence left 37 people dead and sent 150,000 fleeing their homes in April and May 2006.

Gusmao won a pre-independence poll following East Timor's bloody split from Indonesia in 1999 and has set his sights on the more powerful job of prime minister.

AAP - April 12, 2007 12:00am

'Serious doubts' about Timor poll

By Karen Michelmore in Dili
East Timor's Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, said today he was beginnning to have serious doubts about the fairness of this week's presidential election.

Some 150,000 people, or 30 per cent of registered voters, didn't vote, he said.

Dr Ramos-Horta is expected to contest a second run-off election against major party Fretilin's candidate Francisco "Lu Olo'' Guterres, after none of the eight candidates received the required majority to win outright in the first round.

Dr Ramos-Horta called for a greater UN presence and more Australian election observers in East Timor for a longer period during the next poll.

His comments came after five of the eight candidates yesterday called for an immediate halt of the counting, saying they would refuse to accept the result unless there was a public recount. "It is most disconcerting, upsetting, as the common people .. poor people who trust in the democratic process, have been let down or might have been let down,'' Dr Ramos-Horta said.

He said an investigation was needed into why so many people did not vote.

Dr Ramos Horta said he supported the five candidates' request for a recount.

Fretilin today declared it had won the poll, describing it as "victory against all odds".

Fretilin had said it would continue to pursue its complaints about irregularities with the National Electoral Commission (CNE), but now described the flaws as acceptable in a youthful democracy.

"There are no changes in what we detected during the process. What we want to say is that democracy in Timor Leste is still a youthful thing," former Fretilin prime minister Mari Alkatiri said.

"Events such as these ... so long as they don't effect the ultimate result of the election, we are capable of tolerating."

Mr Alkatiri said the result was lower than Fretilin's expectations, but said all seven other candidates had "ganged up" against him.

He was confident of a Fretilin victory in the second round against Dr Ramos-Horta.

Reuters - Thu 12 Apr 2007 4:15:13 BST

East Timorese hold peace vigil amid poll disputes

By Ahmad Pathoni
Dili - East Timor's election commission will meet on Thursday to discuss calls for a vote recount, as the tiny nation faces a presidential run-off between Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and the ruling Fretilin Party's candidate.

Monday's polls were mostly peaceful but a drawn-out election period and allegations of irregularities will raise concerns about fresh instability in the impoverished nation that still has deep divisions five years after independence.

Overnight dozens of people in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, once a Portuguese colony, held a candlelit vigil near a statue of the Mother Mary in Dili to pray for peace.
Martinho Gusmao, the election commission spokesman, said the commission would meet candidates to discuss voting disputes. But he said there would not be any major shift in the results. "If there's a change it won't be drastic. No candidate will win more than 30 percent."

If no one wins more than half the vote, a run-off will be held on May 8.

Gusmao said it was almost certain Ramos-Horta and parliament chief Francisco Guterres of Fretilin, who is also known by the guerrilla nickname "Lu'olo" he had during the fight against the 24 years of Indonesian rule that followed Portugal's withdrawal, would contest a run-off.

Preliminary vote counting showed Guterres, whose well-organised Fretilin Party has bigger support in rural areas, had 29 percent of the vote, while Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner who spearheaded an overseas campaign for independence from Indonesia, had 23 percent. The election commission spokesman said, however, that there were still disputes over the validity of 30 percent of the votes.

"We must understand that we are not well prepared for this election and things are a bit chaotic."

Five candidates, including Fernando de Araujo of the Democratic Party, called for a recount on Wednesday, alleging widespread irregularities.

COUNTER CLAIMS

Ramos-Horta said there had been many flaws in the polls.

"I think there should be another count because there are serious allegations," he told reporters.
But he said if there was no recount he would accept the results to contribute to stability. He accused police in some districts of acting as thugs for Fretilin.

National election commission chief Faustino Cardoso Gomes said final results were expected on April 16 or 17.

Fretilin's secretary general said there had been a "well mounted campaign against Fretilin" that he linked to Ramos-Horta and outgoing President Xanana Gusmao.

"This campaign includes disinformation, abuse of power and intimidation," said Mari Alkatiri, who was replaced as prime minister by Ramos-Horta last year after taking much of the blame for the chaos that emerged in East Timor last year.

A regional split erupted into bloodshed last May after the sacking of 600 mutinous troops from the western region. Foreign troops had to be brought in to restore order.

"I have no doubt we will win the next round," said Alkatiri.

EU observer chief Javier Pomes Ruiz said on Wednesday that the election had mostly gone smoothly with a high turnout. "The opinion of the EU observation mission in general is that the level of violence and intimidation is not enough to change the opinion of a peaceful and orderly process," he said.

The Nation (Tailândia) - Thu, April 12, 2007 - 0:10 am

Editorial: Democracy fragile in E Timor

It is time for Asean to support Dili's democratic efforts by inducting the young state as its eleventh member

It has not been easy for East Timor, one of the world's youngest nations, to maintain the rule of law, nurture democracy, and avoid the slippery slope toward the unenviable status of a failed state. East Timor is a poor country with only 900,000 people, but it has managed to survive despite many unresolved problems related to poverty and its traumatic recent history. The country's presidential election on Monday went ahead peacefully and served as a showcase for the democratic aspirations of the East Timorese, who in 1999 voted for independence after 24 years under Indonesian rule.

Last year, the country descended into chaos due to a mutiny in its armed forces. Thousands of refugees fled their homes to escape a flare-up of violence in which dozens were killed. To ensure stability, Australian troops have been stationed there in a peace-keeping capacity.

Following the country's first electoral round on Monday, there will be a run-off contest between the two frontrunners - former prime minister and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and Francisco Guterres, the former commander of the Fretilin Party - as none of the eight candidates in the election won enough votes to declare victory. The winner will succeed charismatic president Xanana Gusmao, who did not seek re-election and looks set to run as a candidate to be prime minister shortly.

Although it is hard to predict the outcome of the run-off poll, it is hoped that the next president will be able to restore calm and establish a sense of normalcy. The contest between Ramos-Horta, who has been the country's voice overseas for decades, and Guterres, who has many followers, will be a close one. Guterres got 28.7 per cent of the votes while Ramos-Horta secured 22.6 per cent in the first round on Monday.

East Timor has great potential because of its rich natural resources, especially its oil and gas deposits, which could serve as a vast source of revenue for its national development.
The country needs dedicated technocrats who can run and manage the economy so that everybody in society benefits from the oil and gas money. Since its independence in 1999, and three years of UN administration, East Timor has been struggling to survive local disputes and discord among various ethnic groups within its borders.

The country still needs a functioning bureaucracy to run the country effectively and take care of its natural resources and properly utilise the large oil revenues it will receive in the future. Media outlets in East Timor also have a role to play in disseminating information, encouraging reconciliation and promoting stability in a divided community where members speak many different languages.

Finally, Asean must do all it can to embrace East Timor now. Although Dili was invited to join the group as an observer several years back and it signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the country is still far from becoming a member.

Indeed, it is time that Asean induct East Timor as its eleventh member.

There is no need to wait any longer to include the country. After all, Asean did not wait for the military junta in Burma to give way to democracy before admitting that country into the grouping in 1997. East Timor is a democratic country and Asean should provide it with assistance and organisational support. Ongoing Asean programmes with its dialogue partners would help East Timor to overcome its current problems.

It is true that East Timor has better and closer ties with the South Pacific Forum, which it has been a part of since declaring independence. However, as a member of Asean, East Timor would feel more at home as its younger generation and bureaucrats have become more familiar with Southeast Asian culture than any other. Furthermore, East Timor could also serve as a bridge between Southeast Asia and Pacific nations.

Asean would not mind such an arrangement. Indeed such an arrangement would benefit Asean members, which could utilise East Timor's extensive network of contacts in the Pacific and Europe.

Post Courier – Thursday 12th April , 2007

Fretlin ahead

Dili: Fretilin appeared to have taken the lead in East Timor presidential race, with more than half the votes counted, a local election observer group said yesterday.

KOMEG, the largest East Timorese election observation group monitoring the election, said Fretilin’s candidate Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo” had 102,424 votes, from a total of 374,458 votes counted.

More than half a million East Timorese went to the polls on Monday to select a new president.
Eight candidates are vying to replace independence fighter Xanana Gusmao as president of the tiny nation.

KOMEG said Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta appeared to be in second place with 80,171 votes with the Democratic Party candidate Fernando “La Sama” de Araujo third with 68,723 votes.

However, KOMEG said counting was still proceeding and the results were preliminary.

KOMEG said it gathered its results from monitoring the progress at polling centres across East Timor. Counting is proceeding slowly in all districts, with the national election commission expected to announce more formal official preliminary results later.

With none of the candidates likely to gain the required majority for an outright win, a second, run-off, election is expected to be held next month.

The national electoral commission (CNE) later released results which put Dr Ramos Horta in front with a narrow lead after 70 per cent of the vote had been counted.

ABC – Thursday, April 12, 2007. 2:24pm (AEST)

Ramos Horta urges UN to increase election scrutiny
By Anne Barker

East Timor's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta has called for a stronger United Nations mission to supervise the second round of elections next month.
Most of the eight presidential candidates have alleged serious irregularities or intimidation of voters in Monday's ballot.

Five minor candidates have accused the ruling Fretilin Party of intimidating voters to support their candidate, and they are demanding a recount of votes.

Dr Ramos Horta has urged the UN to increase its police presence before the second run-off election next month to minimise the chance of foul play.

He says independent election monitors must keep watch on the entire campaign, and not just the ballot itself.

Dr Ramos Horta will run against the Fretilin candidate Francisco Guterres, or Lu Olo, in early May.

The Jakarta Post - Thursday, April 12, 2007

Ramos-Horta, Guterres face run-off election

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Dili

All 13 districts in Timor Leste finished vote counting Wednesday, with Fretilin's Francisco Guterres Lu `Olo and Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta taking the largest portions of the vote.
They will now face each other in a run-off election on May 8 as no candidate garnered more than 50 percent of the primary vote.

The Timor Leste Election Commission (CNE) announced that out of the 357,766 valid votes cast, Guterres of the ruling Fretilin Party obtained 103,013, or 28.79 percent, followed by Ramos-Horta with 80,851 votes or 22.60 percent and the Democrat Party's Fernando de Araujo Lasama with 66,261 votes or 18.52 percent.

Francisco Xavier do Amaral and the only female candidate, Lucia Maria Lobato, are in fourth and fifth place with 12.82 percent and 9.24 percent respectively, while the three other candidates each have less than 5 percent of the vote.

"By four o'clock this afternoon, we officially closed the counting at the district level, and came up with Francisco Guterres as the winner, followed by Jose Ramos-Horta in second place," CNE spokesman Martinho da Silva Gusmao told a press conference here Wednesday.
Gusmao could not provide final figures on the total voter turnout and invalid votes, but said that with the number of eligible voters in the country standing at 522,933, the percentage of valid votes to eligible votes was 68.42 percent.

He said that starting Thursday the CNE would begin a national tabulation to verify the results of the counting at the district level, and would have complete and final figures in the coming days.
"However, there is little possibility of significant change. It is almost likely that Lu `Olo and Ramos-Horta will be advanced to the second round," Gusmao said.

Meanwhile five other candidates - Lasama, do Amaral, Lucia Lobato, Avelina Coelho and Manuel Tilman - demanded that the CNE stop vote counting until all ballot boxes were secured in one place and continue counting in the presence of the eight candidates because they had found many irregularities during the voting and counting process.

"We have facts of fraud and irregularities. We will not accept the CNE's counting results unless they follow our demands. If the CNE proceeds with the current process then we will challenge the election results in court," Lasama told a press conference.

However, the EU Election Observation Mission for Timor Leste, the largest foreign observer for the election, announced that it had not found any irregularities that seriously undermined the credibility of the election.

"The Timorese people have expressed their democratic choice in peaceful and open elections. Conducted by Timorese for the first time, the challenge ahead is to strengthen national institutions," EU observation mission chief Javier Pomes Ruiz told a press conference on the preliminary assessment of the election.

Later in the afternoon, Ramos-Horta expressed confidence that he would win the run-off election with Fretilin's candidate.

"Not only will I get votes from the supporters of all other candidates, I can also obtain support from moderate members of Fretilin," he told reporters.

Political advisor to Guterres Harold Moucho was also confident that Guterres would win the run-off.

"There are more than 90,000 invalid votes, and we believe that they belong to us. We are also sure that part of the supporter base of do Amaral and Tilman will vote for us. It remains to be seen whether Lasama's supporters will vote for us but these people don't want to lose for the second time so they will pick the strongest one," he told The Jakarta Post.

ABC – Transcript AM Programme - Wednesday, 12 April, 2007 - 09:35

Timor presidential poll run-off as candidates threaten court action
Reporter: Anne Barker

TONY EASTLEY: Doubts are being raised about the fairness of the Presidential election in East Timor with claims of vote manipulation and voter intimidation.

The accusations come from five of the eight candidates.

The Electoral Commission says it won't investigate though until it receives a formal complaint.
At this stage of counting the Fretilin Party Candidate, Francisco Lu Olo Guterres, is clearly in the lead. From Dili, Anne Barker reports.

ANNE BARKER: All five candidates from East Timor's minor political parties have written to the National Electoral Commission demanding a recount of the entire vote otherwise they say they'll mount a court challenge to the final result.

CANDIDATE: We are not happy with this process and we want the boxes to bring all to Dili and we recount it in, in the Capital.

ANNE BARKER: They're not the only ones alleging irregularities in the electoral processes.
European Union observers say they too witnessed intimidation at four polling booths and irregular practices during the count.

One Australian observer says he's alarmed that close to a quarter of all votes have been declared invalid. Damien Kingsbury from Deakin University says there must be a recount.
DAMIEN KINGSBURY: The problem's not with the vote, the problem appears to be with the counting process.

Last night we had observers count, watching the count, and the number of invalid votes appeared to be very small, in order of a couple of per cent at most and today we see it's jumped to what looks like about a quarter and that simply can't be explained.

It's also worth noting that on a 70 per cent count of the vote, provisionally, Lu Olo, the Fertilin candidate had about 23 per cent of the vote at the end of the day, when the last 30 per cent was counted, he jumped to 29 per cent and that would seem to be statistically highly unusual, highly irregular.

ANNE BARKER: But doesn't that, isn't that because the votes that have come in today have included those towns where Fretilin has its strongest voter base in Vlatal (phonetic) and Vlatem (phonetic).

DAMIEN KINGSBURY: Well they would come in from the more remote polling stations for sure, but that goes equally across the country where Lu Olo is both popular and unpopular, you don't usually expect to see such a significant shift in voter intentions, once 70 per cent of the vote has been counted.

ANNE BARKER: So do you believe there's been some sort of manipulation of the vote in those two towns?

DAMIEN KINGSBURY: I don't know if it's in those two towns as such, I think that what we need to do is to have a recount in Dili, with independent scrutineers not party scrutineers but independent scrutineers, participating and perhaps not allowing the Electoral Commission to participate because there has been concerns that a number of Electoral Commission members are in fact Fretilin Party appointees.

ANNE BARKER: Are you saying then that the count hasn't been properly supervised or that some of the counters then are corrupt?

DAMIEN KINGSBURY: It looks like some of the counters have been influenced by their, their own political affiliations.

ANNE BARKER: So do you believe if, if Lu Olo becomes the President of East Timor, that he may have got there illegally?

DAMIEN KINGSBURY: Well, on the basis of the current numbers he still only has 29 per cent of the vote so he has to go to a second round. That means that 71 per cent of the vote is non-Fretilin so his chances of being successful of becoming President are still pretty slim, but having said that, I think that candidates like Fernando Lasama de Araujo would have real concerns about this because at 70 per cent of the count, he was within a hairbreadth of overtaking Jose Ramos Horta, now he's well behind, and I think he would have real grounds for being concerned.
TONY EASTLEY: Damian Kingsbury from Deakin University. That report from Anne Barker in Dili.

ABC – Transcript PM Programme - Wednesday, 11 April , 2007 18:24
East Timor election: calls for recount

Reporter: Anne Barker

MARK COLVIN: There have been dramatic developments in the presidential election in East Timor, including claims of serious voting irregularities and demands for a recount.
Several candidates have written a letter to the National Electoral Commission in Dili alleging voter intimidation. Anne Barker, our correspondent in Dili, joins me now.
(to Anne Barker) Anne exactly has happened in the last couple of hours?

ANNE BARKER: Well Mark, it's been pretty dramatic, as you say.

We've only learnt of this late today, where five of the candidates have, as you say, written a letter making some very serious allegations of fraud and intimidation during the election campaign. In particular, they accused the ruling Fretilin Party of waging terror and intimidation of voters at the ballot box. They say that there have been too many votes issued and distributed. They say there's a serious discrepancy between the number of voters on the day and the number of votes that have been collected. They also say that there was an unauthorised extension of voting without the proper sort of observers and authorities standing by to witness it.

And they're demanding that all the votes be brought back to Dili and recounted in public, with all eight candidates present. Otherwise they say they'll go to the Supreme Court and launch a challenge.

MARK COLVIN: So to be clear, all these accusations are being aimed at the Fretilin Party.

ANNE BARKER: That's right.

I mean, there is an accusation also of intervention, and this is a quote, "intervention by Government members at several polling booths." But when they say Government members I think you can take that to mean Fretilin members, because it is a ruling Fretilin Party, even though independent candidate Jose Ramos Horta is the Prime Minister in an interim period.

MARK COLVIN: And is Jose Ramos Horta one of the ones complaining?

ANNE BARKER: Well, he wasn't at the press conference with the five candidates who made this complaint, and he certainly hasn't signed that letter.

But at a separate press conference earlier today he did make some allegations of his own. He said that some thugs at the eastern town of Viqueque had threatened his own members, and I think the impression was that he meant Fretilin members there.

He also did say that there were errors in the way that some votes might have been entered in the database, or in the computer sort of counting system. So he has sort of alleged some discrepancies himself. But he hasn't gone so far as to make this serious allegation that the others have.

MARK COLVIN: Are there independent election observers up there who might confirm or deny that these things have been taking place?

ANNE BARKER: There are. There are 250 or so international observers and more than a thousand local observers. So far, these allegations have been made so late today that we haven't had a chance to really run it past them.

The National Electoral Commission has just held another press conference where they've said that they're not aware of the complaint as yet and that it will have to be put in writing for it to be taken seriously, but if that is done then they will listen to the complaint and there is every chance that there will be a recount. So we have to wait and see what will happen there.
MARK COLVIN: So a recount seems extremely likely, but in the meantime, where does this now very questionable count show?

ANNE BARKER: Well, at the moment we've just heard that the last... the latest official figures from the electoral commission show that Fretilin candidate Francisco Guterres, or "Lu-Olo", does indeed have the lead in this count. He's on about 29 per cent of the vote nationally.
Jose Ramos Horta is in second place with 22 per cent and the third candidate, Fernando de Araujo, is back on about 18 per cent.

Now, it seems that the only votes left to count are mostly sort of invalid votes or donkey votes or, however, they were phrased. But there will be another recount at the national level, because so far it's been done only at the district level, and if that is confirmed, that count, then there will be a second run-off election between those two lead candidates next month.

MARK COLVIN: But it is a big turnaround from last night, same time, really, isn't it, when it did appear that the Fretilin candidate was trailing quite badly. Now, Fretilin would obviously say that that's because the votes from the east, where it's strongest, were late coming in, but the accusers would say that it backs up their case.

ANNE BARKER: Well that's right.

I mean the difference today is that we have had a lot of votes coming in from the eastern towns, particularly Baucau and Lautem which are two Fretilin strongholds in the east of the country.

Now it is... the party says they have very good campaigners there, good organisers and that's why their vote has sort of jumped today.

But in light of the allegations that we've heard this afternoon, you now have to wonder whether there may be something more sinister behind it...

MARK COLVIN: Alright...

ANNE BARKER: ...but certainly no one can know that yet.

MARK COLVIN: Thank you, Anne.

Anne Barker, our correspondent in Dili.

NZPA - Thursday, 12 April 2007
Timor dominates Clark talks in Portugal

Recent elections in East Timor have dominated talks between Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates.

Miss Clark held talks with Mr Socrates overnight ahead of a trip to Spain to visit New Zealand's America's Cup team and promote business and trade links.

Portugal, along with New Zealand and Australia, is part of a United Nations-mandated peacekeeping force in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony.

The troubled fledgling nation has just held the first round of fresh presidential elections, which appear to be headed for a run-off between Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and the parliamentary chief of the ruling Fretilin Party, Francisco Guterres.

A regional split erupted into bloodshed last May after the sacking of 600 mutinous troops from the western region. Foreign troops had to be brought in to restore order.

Miss Clark today said Portugal, which had more than 300 personnel in East Timor, remained committed to the country as long as foreign support was necessary and welcome.

"Like us they want to see continuing international involvement," she told NZPA.

But the presence of the foreign force could hinge on the outcome of the presidential election and upcoming elections to determine the Government.

It was possible a future leader or Government might revoke the peacekeeping force's invitation to be in the country.

"We can't take that for granted and I think there is a lot of water to go under the bridge in Timor."

She said the issue of East Timor was followed incredibly closely in Portugal.
Fears have been raised that if Freitlin won the election it could show greater hostility to the foreign peacekeeping force.

Miss Clark said she had also raised New Zealand's relationship with Europe with Mr Socrates, as Portugal assumed the revolving presidency of the European Union (EU) on July 1.
New Zealand was keen to sign up a science agreement with the EU as well as wine and air services agreements.

Miss Clark said Portugal was also looking favourably at a New Zealand proposal for a working-holiday scheme between the two countries.

It was possible such an agreement, which would allow young New Zealanders to work in Portugal for up to a year, could be signed within a year, she said.