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East Timor premier set for win

July 8, 2012

East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao appears set for victory in a parliamentary election that is viewed as a key test for the nation's democracy. A stable coalition could mean UN peacekeepers are able to leave.

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An East Timorese election official folds a ballot
Image: AP

Resistance hero Gusmao was set for a new term as prime minister on Sunday, as preliminary results show that his party won the most seats in a parliamentary election.

The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) was expected to win 31 out of 65 seats in the parliament, only two seats short of an absolute majority.

The Democratic Party (PD), which is a member of the current ruling coalition, was set to take eight seats.

The main opposition party Fretilin was projected to win 24 seats, according to early figures.

The tally was based on a provisional count of all ballots, with a final official result not expected for several days.

Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmao
Gusmao was a key figure in Fretilin, before leading the CNRTImage: AP

Coalition talks

PD vice president Lurdes Bessa said coalition talks with the CNRT had already begun, with her party likely to support Gusmao.

The readiness of East Timor to take on its own security responsibilities hinges on the formation of a stable coalition.

Without that, there are concerns that violence might arise in the country, which celebrated a decade of independence in May.

UN peacekeepers

The 3,000-strong United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) - which currently polices the country - was deployed to restore security in 2006, after an internal political crisis that led to fighting among police and soldiers.

Also awaiting a possible departure from the country is the International Stabilization Force, made up of some 450 troops from New Zealand and Australia.

East Timor, which has significant offshore fields of oil and natural gas, became independent from Portugal in 1975. It was invaded by Indonesia only days later.

Some 183,000 people died from fighting, disease and starvation before the population voted for independence in a UN-led referendum in 1999.

rc/slk (AFP, dpa)