EAST TIMOR: East Timor's prime minister, José Ramos-Horta, won an overwhelming majority of votes in the presidential run-off, provisional figures showed yesterday.
"I'm happy with the results. I will carry out my duties according to the constitution and listen to advice from everybody so that I can take Timor Leste to a better future," the Nobel Peace Prize-winner said, referring to the official name of East Timor.
Election commission spokeswoman Maria Angelina Sarmento said Mr Ramos-Horta won 73 per cent of the votes after 90 per cent of ballots in Wednesday's election had been counted. She said the vote needed to be verified.
Before the election commission announcement, a spokesman for the ruling Fretilin party and its candidate, former guerrilla Francisco Guterres, said the party would respect the results.
"Whatever the result for Fretilin we are ready to accept it with dignity," he said.
There was no immediate reaction in Dili, which seemed calm, with no big gatherings of people and traffic moving freely. Mr Ramos-Horta (57), who spearheaded an overseas campaign for East Timor's independence from Indonesia, had earlier vowed to resolve a refugee problem arising from violence last year.
A regional split erupted into bloodshed last May after the sacking of 600 mutinous troops from the western region. Foreign troops were brought in to restore order but 30,000 people remain in camps across Dili, afraid to go home. - (Reuters)