2012 East Timorese presidential election
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Presidential elections were held in East Timor on 17 March 2012, with a second round on 16 April.[1] Incumbent president José Ramos-Horta, who was eligible for a second and final term as president, announced that he would seek nomination to be a candidate in the election.[2] The election was seen as a test for the "young democracy" in seeking to take control of its own security.[3] Former military commander Taur Matan Ruak provisionally beat Francisco Guterres in a second round runoff.
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Background
The
Incumbent president José Ramos-Horta had initially been reluctant to run for re-election, but a draft movement collected over 120,000 signatures in favour of his candidacy, prompting him to run.[5]
Candidates
There were finally twelve candidates running for president; two others eventually were excluded, one failing to meet the nomination requirements and another dying at the start of the election.
- Abílio Araújo[6]
- National Parliament of East Timor,[7] president of the Democratic Party
- Maria do Céu[8]
- Lucas da Costa[9]
- Francisco Gomes[10]
- FRETILIN
- Frente-Mudança[6]
- José Ramos-Horta, incumbent president
- Rogério Lobato[11]
- Angelita Pires[12]
- Military of East Timor.[13] He is an independent candidate, but supported by East Timor's second biggest party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, (CNRT) and its leader, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.[4]
- Manuel Tilman[6]
The candidacy of
Campaign
Economic issues were said to be the primary concern.[20] According to the AFP, the most likely candidates were José Ramos-Horta, Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres and Taur Matan Ruak. Ruak also said that he was confident of winning without a run-off. He won the backing of CNRT after it withdrew support for Ramos-Horta over criticism of the government; still, Ramos-Horta said he was not unhappy with the decision to support Ruak: "I'm very happy he's supporting one of my favourite candidates. If someone supports [Ruak] I'm happy because I admire [him]."[21] Ruak was seen as likely to get some votes from FRETILIN's traditional base as he was popular with the party and repeatedly courted by the party hierarchy before opting to run as an independent after he quit his army post. However, there were also concerns of having someone affiliated to the army run for president because the army has sometimes disagreed with the police.[7] Ruak campaigned wearing camouflage to highlight his role in the War of Independence.[22]
Ramos-Horta said before the election that "If I'm not elected, I have so many things to do - I have to struggle to choose what to do."[23] Xanana Gusmão campaigned for Ruak. Both Guitteres and Ruak said that they would abide by the outcome of the second round of the election.[24] Ruak also said that he was proud to be Gusmão's deputy during the independence struggle.[25] In the second round the Democratic Party and Ramos-Horta remained neutral.[26]
Monitors and electoral issues
International observers were present from Australia, the European Union, Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and
On 28 February, the
On 5 March, the CNE held a meeting with the political parties and presidential candidates to explain issues and rules about the campaigning process, the roles of political parties' and candidates' agents and campaign finance issues. The president of state-owned[29] Radio-Televisão Timor Leste (RTTL) Expedito also elucidated RTTL's role in covering the election. Amongst the attendees were representatives of all 13 political parties and six presidential candidates.[30]
The Deputy Secretary-General of
Violence
On 20 February, the offices of the CNE and the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration were firebombed at about 3:00 in the national capital of Dili. The attack also damaged a UNMIT vehicle.[33] Australia's Sky News also suggested that witnesses had reported seeing serving members of the military campaign for Ruak amid what it said were fears of voter intimidation. However, Ramos-Horta said that he is "completely reassured about security. Our police and the United Nations police are alert all over the country. They have tremendous experience over the years in assessing the situation, in pre-empting any security threats so I am very confident it will be okay."[34] However, Indonesia's ambassador, Eddy Setyabudi, said that the government of Indonesia was making contingency plans to evacuate 7,540 Indonesians from the country if the situation worsens and riots occur, following a meeting of the Indonesian-East Timor Border Coordination committee.[35]
On 13 April, just before the second round, about 100 people were reported to have pelted Ruak's campaign headquarters with stones. More violence was reported over the burning of the homes of two "political supporters" and several campaign vehicles. National Police (PNTL) deputy commander Alfonso de Jesus said that due to the presence of police untoward incidents were not serious: "We had six police officers there but [if] straight away they are not respecting the police presence there then the group is using the opportunity to take stones and throw them at the office."[36]
Results
About 620,000 people[37] out of a population of 1,100,000 are able to vote.[4] There are 13 electoral districts in the country.[23] Voting took place between 7:00 and 15:00 with no reports of untoward incidents. In at least one polling station that was monitored, the attendants unsealed the ballots delivered under United Nations Police protection. A high voter turnout was also recorded with some polling stations needing to use their reserve ballots.[21]
Ermenegildo Lopes, the leader of the Bloku Ploklamador, said that his party's representatives indicated that no one would cross the 50% threshold to avoid a run-off. The AFP also said the election was "remarkably organised" in contrast to the pre-election violence in 2006.[29] Ramos-Horta said of the election that "there has not been a single incidence of violence" and that he continues to believe the country is already ready to take control of its security.[23]
The preliminary hand-counted result, broadcast live on RTTL,[29] of over 70% of the votes indicated that Francisco Guterres was leading with 27.28% of the votes, followed by Taur Matan Ruak with 24.17% of the votes and incumbent president José Ramos-Horta followed with 19.43% of the votes[20] (though Amaral had died, his name was still on the result notification issued by the election commission). Provisional results for the second round were scheduled to be announced within 48 hours of the polls closing,[37] though they were announced a day earlier.[24] Though the final result had to be certified by the Court of Appeals, Ruak had got 61.23% of the votes.[22] Turnout was 72.1%.[38]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
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Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Rogério Lobato | Independent | 16,219 | 3.49 | |||
José Luís Guterres | Frenti-Mudança | 9,235 | 1.99 | |||
Manuel Tilman | Association of Timorese Heroes | 7,226 | 1.56 | |||
Abílio Araújo | Timorese Nationalist Party | 6,294 | 1.35 | |||
Lucas da Costa | Independent | 3,862 | 0.83 | |||
Francisco Gomes | People's Freedom Party of Aileba | 3,531 | 0.76 | |||
Maria do Céu | Independent | 1,843 | 0.40 | |||
Angelita Pires | Independent | 1,742 | 0.37 | |||
Total | 464,661 | 100.00 | 449,879 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 464,661 | 94.84 | 449,879 | 98.08 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 25,272 | 5.16 | 8,824 | 1.92 | ||
Total votes | 489,933 | 100.00 | 458,703 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 627,295 | 78.10 | 627,295 | 73.12 | ||
Source: IFES, IFES |
Reactions
Ramos-Horta said that he had no disappointment over the result and that both the leaders were capable enough of ensuring peace and stability, which was his primary concern.[20] He also conceded defeat and added: "On the stroke of midnight on May 19 I will hand over leadership of the country to the new president, one of the two who are now going for a second round."[39] Ruak's spokesman Fidelis Magalhães said after the second round that "we are very much elevated by the result, by the current outcome. We expect to see some changes [in the final count], minor, probably one or two percentage points, but without a clear swing or fluctuation of points."[22]
Ameerah Haq, the UN secretary-general's special representative for East Timor, was reported to have said that if the presidential and parliamentary elections go off without incidents the UNMIT would leave the country.[37]
Analysis
The
References
Notes
- ^ "L'ONU salue l'élection au Timor-Leste" (in French). Le Figaro. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "East Timor's Ramos-Horta to Seek Second Term". Jakarta Globe. Agence France-Presse. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Polls close in East Timor presidential election". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Polls close in East Timor presidential vote - Asia-Pacific". Al Jazeera English. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Kommentar posten (31 January 2012). "Präsident Ramos-Horta tritt im März erneut zur Wahl an - Osttimor" (in German). Derstandard.at. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Tribunal de Recurso" (PDF) (in Portuguese). National Election Commission. Retrieved 19 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Bachelard, Michael (17 March 2012). "President vulnerable as East Timor goes to polls". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "Centru Jornalista Investigativo Timor Leste". Cjitlnoticias.sapo.tl. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Centru Jornalista Investigativo Timor Leste". Cjitlnoticias.sapo.tl. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Peake, Gordon. "Rogerio Lobato: From inmate to president?". Lowyinterpreter.org. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Lindsay Murdoch (10 June 2011). "Australian acquitted of plot to kill wants Timor's top job". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Taur Matan Ruak é candidato às próximas presidenciais". Abola.pt (in Portuguese). 10 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Ted McDonell (16 January 2012). "Doctor offers antidote to East Timor's ills". The Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Angela: Rejected Presidential candidate predicts more violence in East Timor". Cjitl.org. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "Angela: I may have lost this battle but the "War" is far from over". Cjitl.org. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ McDonnell, Ted. "Unity in East Timor Presidential race". Demotix.com. Retrieved 16 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Alford, Peter (17 March 2012). "Resistance-era president of East Timor, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, dies in Dili, aged 74". The Australian. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ Peter Alford (7 March 2012). "Resistance-era president of East Timor, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, dies in Dili, aged 74". The Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "East Timor president out of poll race". Al Jazeera English. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "AFP: East Timor votes in test for young nation". 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Matan Ruak 'wins' East Timor polls - Asia-Pacific". Al Jazeera English. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Ramos-Horta voted out in East Timor". Sky News. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Matan Ruak set to become East Timor president - Asia-Pacific". Al Jazeera English. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b Peter Alford (18 April 2012). "Big call for East Timor President Taur Matan Ruak over prime ministerial appointment". The Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Kingsbury, Damien "Timor election a key test of stability". National Times, SMH.com.au. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Meeting with the European Union about electoral situation". National Electoral Commission. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "National Pact for Peaceful Elections 2012". National Electoral Commission. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "AFP: Ramos-Horta out as East Timor heads for run-off". 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "CNE's 4th meeting with the political parties and candidates". National Electoral Commission. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "TIMOR-LESTE: High hopes for post-election prosperity". IRIN. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Kate Lamb (16 March 2012). "East Timor elections: what's at stake". GlobalPost. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Karlis Salna (23 February 2012). "Arson attack on East Timor election office". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "Reports of voter intimidation in E Timor". Sky News. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Yohanes Seo and Jose Sarito Amaral (9 March 2012). "Govt Prepares Evacuation of RI Citizens from East Timor". Tempo. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "Mob attacks East Timor candidate's office". The Australian. Australian Associated Press. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "East Timor votes for new president - Asia-Pacific". Al Jazeera English. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "April 2012". Rulers.org. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "East Timor's Ramos Horta admits defeat". Al Jazeera English. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Further reading
- Kingsbury, Damien (29 February 2012). "Timor-Leste to go to the polls". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Leach, Michael (4 March 2012). "Presidential elections in Timor-Leste: what's at stake?". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (19 March 2012). "Timor's change of leader". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (13 April 2012). "Timor-Leste: the presidential runoff". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
External links
Media related to 2012 East Timorese presidential election at Wikimedia Commons