Jakarta –
Timor Leste will hold presidential elections on Saturday, March 19, 2022. A total of 16 presidential candidates have registered to contest 859,613 votes from 13 districts in the country of 1.3 million people. Competing candidates include incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres. While the other four candidates are women.
Nobel laureate and second president of Timor Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta, who is also in the contest for the country’s fifth presidential election, said he hoped to restore political stability in Asia’s youngest democracy.
In a virtual meeting with the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) on Thursday (17/03), the 72-year-old said he felt he had to maintain the constitutional integrity of Timor Leste.
“What has happened in recent years is that the president has crossed the line,” Ramos-Horta said, referring to the long-standing political tensions that hinder efforts to eradicate poverty, corruption and develop energy-rich resources.
Tensions began when President Guterres objected and delayed for two years the appointment of several CNRT politicians, the political party led by Xanana Gusmao, to key cabinet posts.
Ramos-Horta excels in survey
Ramos-Horta, Guterres, and the former commander of the East Timor Army, Lere Anan Timur, are the top three candidates in this year’s presidential election, according to a poll from the National University in Timor Leste.
The survey shows Ramos-Horta, who is supported by CNRT, leads the survey results with an electability rate of 39%.
Patricio da Silva, one of Guterres’ supporters, said Guterres’ supporters still had “high hopes” that the 67-year-old could be re-elected as president for the 2022-2027 term.
If none of the 16 candidates gets a majority of more than 50%, a second round of the presidential election will be held between the top two candidates on 19 April. The winner will take office on 20 May, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Timor Leste’s independence from Indonesia.
Young voters who decide the victory?
The role of young voters in this country of 1.3 million people is the focus of the presidential election, where it is estimated that around 20% of the total voters are beginners. It is recorded that about 70% of the total population in this country is less than 30 years old.
“The big problem in a society with an average age of 18 is that the president has to provide more jobs and access to education,” said Michael Leach, an academic at Australia’s Swinburne University, adding that Timor Leste must be free from dependence on oil and gas revenues.
Timor Leste was colonized by Portugal in the 18th century until 1975, before it was finally annexed by Indonesia as the 27th province. In 1999, residents there held a UN-supervised independence referendum. Then, Timor Leste was officially recognized as a country by the United Nations in 2002.
Nearly 20 years after independence, the posts of president and parliament are often filled by the same face. Ramos-Horta, Guterres and Xanana Gusmao have held various positions, powers, and continue to be prominent figures in the 15,000-square-kilometer nation.
rap/as (Reuters, AFP)
(ita / ita)
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