Officials collect ballot boxes in Dili on March 18, 2022, ahead of the country’s presidential election.
Valentino Dariel Sousa | AFP | beautiful pictures
Polls opened in East Timor on Saturday, as Asia’s youngest country held its fifth presidential election since independence, with concerns over political stability and economic security economy is put first.
The 16 presidential hopefuls include resistance veteran and current president Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres as well as independent figure and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and a former Catholic priest.
At polling stations in the capital Dili, Timorese wore a mask and waited patiently in line to vote.
“We have to choose a new generation to be able to build this country,” said voter Jorge Mendonca Soares, 42.
While the nation’s independents still dominate the field, there are also four female candidates for the first time, including deputy prime minister Armanda Berta Dos Santos.
A recent national university poll found 72-year-old Ramos-Horta, former defense force commander Lere Anan Timur and Guterres as the favorites.
Polls close at 3pm with early indicators of who is in the lead of the vote expected to arrive late Saturday.
If no candidate wins an outright majority, a vote will take place on April 19 between the two top candidates.
Nearly 20 years on from independence following the end of Indonesia’s brutal occupation, East Timor has long struggled with political instability.
Following the last election in 2018, Guterres refused to take the oath of office in front of several ministers from the National Congress of East Timor Reconstruction (CNRT), a political party led by former prime minister Xanana Gusmao.
The move has resulted in an ongoing political deadlock.
Ramos-Horta, who is backed by Xanana’s CNRT party, said earlier this week he was running because he felt the sitting president had “excessively exceeded his authority.”
In the East Timorese political system, the president appoints a government and has the power to veto ministers or dissolve parliament.
During the recent election debate, Guterres pledged to ensure peace and stability, defend East Timor’s sovereignty and abide by peace and stability, defend East Timor’s sovereignty and abide by the constitution if he won a new term.
High reliance on dwindling oil and gas supplies, economic diversification and the role of young voters are also key electoral issues, with an estimated 20% of voters aged 17 went to the polls and voted for the first time.
First-time voter Marco de Jesus, 17, said he felt nervous but relaxed after being helped by a poll worker.
“I feel proud to have performed my function as a voter,” he said, speaking outside a polling station on Dili’s waterfront.
“I hope my choice can bring about positive and useful change.”
