Reports today indicate that the second round of presidential election that took place Wednesday in East Timor was a success. Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta is headed to a victory, having bagged 70 percent of the number of votes counted so far.
The news worthy aspect of this story is that his opponent, Mr. Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, a former combatant leader in the struggle that freed East Timor from Indonesia’s occupation in 1999 had indicated earlier that he would abide by the outcome of the election. That position has been confirmed today by his spokesman who said, "In a democracy whoever get (sic) the most votes wins”. Mr. Ramos-Horta is currently the prime minister. But it doesn’t seem like he took advantage of his current office to manipulate the election to favor him. The UN special representative in East Timor proclaimed that the election was free and fair, without intimidation.
As recently as last year, East Timor has been wracked by post-independence political violence. The outcome this election which began last month when none of the eight candidates failed to achieve an outright victory can without doubt qualify as success in a new nation. When you compare East Timor’s with what took place in Nigeria last month in the name of elections, it’s like night and day. There is therefore cause for optimism in East Timor as it braces itself for another try under the guidance of a new leader without the cloud of illegitimacy hanging over his head. No one can say the same about Nigeria and Mr. Yar’Adua.
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