Global Courant 2023-05-21 09:50:00
JAKARTA – Voters in Timor-Leste went to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections that analysts said were likely to see two resistance-era figures vying for prime minister.
Sunday’s poll is the country’s fifth parliamentary election since East Timor gained full independence in 2002 after decades of occupation by Indonesia.
Jose Maria Vasconcelos, who has been prime minister since 2018, is backed by a four-party coalition led by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin).
Analysts do not expect him to be appointed prime minister again.
Seventeen parties are contesting the election, but two, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), led by independence hero Xanana Gusmao, and Fretilin, led by resistance figure Mari Alkatiri, are expected to dominate.
The next prime minister is expected to be Mr. Gusmao or Mr. Alkatiri, depending on whose party wins.
East Timor has struggled in recent years to diversify its oil and gas-dependent economy.
“Xanana Gusmao has been in the opposition for three years and is trying to get back to power,” said Professor Michael Leach of Australia’s Swinburne University of the country’s former president and prime minister.
“CNRT and Fretilin will certainly be the two largest parties,” he said.
Some polls showed CNRT ahead.
Prof Leach said Mr Jose Ramos Horta’s victory in the 2022 presidential election was seen as paving the way for CNRT’s return to power.
The party with a parliamentary majority will nominate the next prime minister.
The new parliament will take office on June 12. REUTERS
