E. Timorese Preparing for Sunday's Presidential Election

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 13, 2002

E. Timorese Preparing for Sunday's Presidential Election

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Before the soon-to-be-independent country's first presidential race is held on Sunday (April 14), the people of Timor Lorosae (East Timor) looked busy preparing everything needed, the Antara News Agency reported Saturday.

Crowds of people were still seen cleaning their neighborhood and streets around the city of Dili, building balloting posts, and installing voter lines for Sunday's presidential election.

"We work together to clean the streets and make the preparation for Sunday's presidential election as well as we can. We are ready to participate in the balloting process on Sunday," a young East

Timorese was quoted by Antara as saying.

Around 430,000 of East Timor's 740,000-strong population are eligible to vote in the election.

The people have warmly welcomed a series of campaigns, launched by two presidential candidates, Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao and Francisco Xavier do Amaral, since several days ago.

In his campaign, Gusmao pledged to improve and develop freedom and stability in the country. He promised to prioritize economic recovery if he wins the presidency.

Do Amaral has said he expects to lose and is only running to provide an electoral alternative to Gusmao.

Organizers predict a high turnout. More than 2,000 international and local monitors will observe the vote. United Nations peacekeepers say they are not expecting any unrest.

Meanwhile, Catholic leader Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo called on the entire East Timorese still living in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province to support the presidential election process.

"Their support will be meaningful for the continuation of East Timor's development and good friendship with Indonesia in the future," he said.

In another development, the border between East Timor and Indonesia would remain open, chief of the Wirasakti district military command Col. Moeswarno Moesanip told reporters in Kupang, capital of East Nusa Tenggara province.

The U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) had earlier agreed to temporarily close down the border in the wake of the presidential race.

But eventually UNTAET changed its mind and agreed to keep the border open because it did not see any security threats prior to and on the day of the election, Moesanip told the Antara News Agency.

A Portuguese colony for over a century, East Timor was annexed by Indonesia in 1976. On August 30, 1999, an overwhelming majority of voters opted for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum.

Since October 1999, the territory has been under the UNTAET's rule but the U.N. will fully award it independence on May 20 this year.

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