Voters in East Timor yesterday flocked to polling stations to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections, hoping for an end to years of political deadlock in Asia’s youngest country.
This is the fifth parliamentary poll since East Timor gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a 24-year occupation, with 65 national lawmakers to be elected to a five-year mandate.
As polling stations opened at 7am, voters formed long lines, carrying umbrellas for shade as they patiently waited their turn.
Photo: AFP
“All people came to give their voices, because one voice can make a change,” 61-year-old voter Cesar dos Santos de Carvalho said at a polling station in the capital, Dili.
“I hope the political party that I chose can put attention on health, education, infrastructure and agriculture, because these are the priority sectors that all people need,” he said.
The young democracy has 890,000 registered voters, and 17 parties are vying for seats, but the election is expected to mainly be a showdown between the two largest.
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, also known as Fretilin, leads the coalition currently in power, while the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) is hoping to make a comeback.
CNRT is led by Xanana Gusmao, the country’s first president until 2007, while Fretilin’s leader is former prime minister Mari Alkatiri.
Both are considered icons of the independence era and are veterans of East Timor politics, but they have been locked in a bitter feud for decades. Younger voters make up a large part of the electorate in the country of 1.3 million people, 65 percent of whom are younger than 30.
“I voted for CNRT. I support Xanana. He is ... an influential character that leads with responsibility. He has integrity and loves this country,” 27-year-old student Renaldo de Andrade said.
CNRT won a presidential election last year after capturing 62 percent of the vote in a runoff, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Gusmao ally Jose Ramos-Horta assuming the post.
Gusmao is hoping to build on that momentum by taking over the legislature, but he might need to forge an alliance with smaller parties.
Fretilin have vowed to secure a clear victory and retain their lead in parliament.
“If Fretilin wins for this period, the important thing that we have to do is combat corruption and invest more in education, health and agriculture,” Alkatiri said yesterday, after casting his ballot.
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