Rest & Recuperation

That's the technical term for mandatory holidays in UN peace-keeping missions. Every 12 weeks - it used to be 8! - we are 'forced' out of the country for some well earned rest. By that count I should already have gone but we had a frozen period during the elections which has just been opened as of tomorrow...

So with no time to waste, tomorrow will see me on a plane - just hope my ear drum won't mind too much - to Bali to meet up with J, FINALLY! We haven't seen each other since I left and although communication has been great, albeit the running credit and the shortage of network, I have missed him, A LOT!

Needless to say, you probably won't be hearing from me for the next two weeks, I'll be busy exploring Bali for the second time in a year and Timor's east side of the island, among other things of course hihihi

See you in two weeks!

Not for the faint hearted

I mean it! Please ignore this post otherwise.
The photo you are about to see is a photo we received last friday from our security officer with the head title "Human leg found at Batugade Beach: FYI and avoid swimming"...

It's ghastly isn't it!? A reminder that crocodiles definitely exist in Timor Leste!
The worst was that on the way back from Dili on Friday, M and I decided to stop at this same beach to enjoy the sunset over the water before we had to go back to the mountains and the valley of Maliana. It was a beautiful sunset and we said to ourselves we have to come back one weekend and enjoy Batugade beach. We're both Portuguese so the need for water and the sea runs in our veins. Everytime we come down from Maliana, as soon as we see the ocean from up in the mountains it's like we're at peace, like everything is alright. I can't explain it, I just need to see water, especially the sea. But you can imagine our horror when, after arriving back at home in Maliana, M goes through her e-mails and finds this warning from our security officer, supposedly having happened at the beach we had just vacated!!

Our flatmate J, though, told us that he has received this photo before, a year ago or so... so apparently, it's one of those things that are running around the e-mails of Timor Leste and people pick it up now and again to serve as a warning not to underestimate the crocodiles of Timor Leste, even though none of us, UNVs, has yet seen one since arriving...

So, apologies to the faint hearted, it's just another story from Timor Leste, the island of the 'not so sleeping' crocodile...

Second round and a new president for Timor Leste

I was supposed to have written this post last Tuesday, the day after the second round of elections. However, at 8:30 am on Tuesday last I was told last minute that I would have to go to Dili to accompany the convoy carrying the final ballot box with Bobonaro's result for national tabulation. The convoy left two hours after, leaving me only with time to do my MOP - authorization required in peacekeeping missions for travel outside of your duty station - and a small suitcase for 3 days in Dili.

But I should really start at the beginning...

Sunday, April 15th, at 7am, the sun was out and Bobonaro STAE office was ready and set to deploy the ballot boxes to the 68 polling centres and 81 polling stations in the district. This time we were finally using helicopters, albeit some very stressing last minute changes with MOPs - for the use of helicopters, an MOP is like your ticket onboard, without it you don't fly so you can imagine how stressful it can be when I was missing 8 MOPs for the PNTL officers 20 minutes before flight! But all was sorted in the end and the helicopter came and went with the electoral materials to the two inacessible sites in Bobonaro, that was the fun part!

After I was done getting the helicopters sorted back to STAE I went to join the convoy to my other two assigned polling stations...unfortunately, I was too late and my convoy left without me...I ended up staying in  Maliana on standby all day listening to the radio to hear the progress in dropping off the electoral material.

Monday, however, was another story. Election day for the second round in the presidential elections. Two candidates, both heroes in the war against the Indonesian invasion, both with military background but only with the backing of Xanana Gusmao. As soon as we heard that Xanana was giving his support to TMR, the outcome was obvious. This nation vibrates off of Xanana's emotions and political leanings. In Ainaro, for instance, my colleague told me that after Xanana came for a political rally people believed that he was the candidate, or otherwise, that it didn't matter if he was the candidate or not, whatever he said, went, the people are behind him. One old lady even said that she would stop voting after Xanana died, considering she was older than Xanana, I find that unlikely but she will continue her support for Xanana and whoever he backs, that's a certainty.

We started by going around Maliana monitoring the polling stations. Everything was calm and peaceful. We even got to accompany the mobile units, the ones that go to the hospitals so that patients and hospital staff can vote. We had one minor incident involving backing up into a motorcyle - it seems they do it on purpose even, they park their bikes right behind a car so that the car can't see (we were in the buffalo, our line of vision was completely impaired) and then they wait until it's too late and they ask for money, oh well, thank goodness the UN has insurance...After lunch, we were on our way to collect the ballot boxes and results from our assigned polling centres. I got two different ones this time, Lourba and Lour...in the last round, due to the rain, these two centres were on helicopter request so you can imagine the roads, or lack thereof, to actually get there! But get there we did, the counting was done well, the trainings that the polling staff had in between rounds definitely helped a lot! When the counting was done and we were set to go, dark clouds looming in the sky could be seen, making the descent down to Maliana very risky if they started to pour but luckily all they did was loom, no rain was seen all day, which was a welcome change from the first round. Everything realyl went a lot better this time, we were back in Maliana by 8pm! I was surprised when I was told by the CNE commissioner that the helicopters would not be required to pick up the ballot boxes from the inacessible places, they had all managed to get to Maliana by car...so much for inacessible!!! We were set to finish everything by 11-midnight at the max when the internet server went down and we had to wait for two excruciating hours - some of the staff even made makeshift beds with the cabin booths so they could sleep! By 2:30 internet was back, we were online and finished! All 68 polling centers were accounted for, the mistakes were minor and rather technical and everyone seemed happy with the results: TMR won with 70.01% of the vote and Lu'Olo trailed behing with a 29.99%. The results were mirrored in the rest of the country except for Baucau and Viqueque (Viqueque witness some burnt houses and stoning but it was expected, it's the only volatile district that blows at any election) , the two strongholds of Lu'Olo but otherwise no incidents were accounted on election day...

The next day, Tuesday, as I wrote earlier, we sped off to Dili, sometimes travelling at 120km an hour down very perilous roads, it was quite a show, barreling down the main avenue inDdili with 10 cars, half of them police with sirens and everything, into the CNE headquaters with the final Aktas bearing the results for Bobonaro district! Very exciting indeed!

The national results have by now been announced, Tuar Matan Ruak (TMR) won with a wide majority and Lu'Olo has accepted the results, peacefully and calmly, which is what the UN and the world needed to see, the proof that Timor Leste is ready for independent governance, ready for a new dawn.

Fingerprints and ballot papers

I know, you're probably wondering why I haven't written for a while...
To be honest, it's because nothing worthwhile has happened since the last time I wrote!

Easter came and went in a stupor of heat with nothing to do...at least we had an Easter dinner, but with Indian, Philippine and Indonesian food as well as shisha smoking, I have to say it was the most interesting Easter dinner I've ever witnessed!

We're also starting to crave and plan for our vacations! We're entitled to rest and recuperation breaks every 12 weeks...by that count we were supposed to have taken them already but all leave was frozen until after the presidential elections so we only have permission to go on leave from April 28th onwards...Bali, here I come!

Oh and I witnessed a very interesting thing, I went to the bank the other day and there was a Timorese lady in front of me, since she couldn't write, the bank teller had her sign with her fingerprint in red ink! I don't know how they do in other countries with high illiteracy rates but I thought this to be very cool indeed, now I just wonder if they keep a fingerprint record of all their clients like the police do with all the criminals!

As for work, it came to a near standstill here after the first round of elections. No orders were coming from Dili or even from STAE...

I therefore learned to make my own clothes in the meantime just to pass the time...There is a great deal of batik fabric from Indonesia available here that make beautiful tops and skirts! Orders available, enquire here hihi

Voter education finally started up again last week, the polling staff had another training to try to avoid the same mistakes that happened in the first round and that was about it until this week...

With three days to go until the second round everyone is making sure that we are set and ready to go!
Ballot papers arrived on time and were thoroughly verified...that is, until a rumour came up that some of the ballot papers that went to Covalima were already perforated for one the candidates! Oh the scandal!! What did this mean for us? We actually had to recheck every single ballot paper to check for perforations or marks in favour of one of the candidates!! We started yesterday before lunch and finally finished this morning, all 65,000 ballot papers assigned to Bobonaro District, that's a LOT of ballot papers to check!

Now the sensistive ballot boxes are being filled up as we speak and will be ready for deployment on Sunday. The government has already granted Monday and Tuesday as holidays to allow people to travel to their assigned polling centers to vote. The only thing that could get in our way this time is, again, the weather...it has hardly rained in the last 2 weeks and yet both today, yesterday and the day before the skies decided to darken and come pouring down! So c'mon weather gods, please let it not rain again! The helicopters are actually set and ready this time and all the controversial arguments against using them - lack of police protection and what not - have been sorted, so fingers crossed it will be an easy one...

Only thing is, there are already signs of trouble among the voters, with news of opposing supporters attacking each other...time to get my evacuation bag ready and hope for the best!

Oh, and the president - incubent not future of course - has already set the date for the Parliamentary Elections...they will be held July 7th, meaning, in all likehood, I'll be staying put here until end of July!

In the meantime, here are some elections news for you:

José Luís Guterres: Timorese should determine UN mission
Timor Post (page 20)Acting Prime Minister José Luís Guterres said that it is important for the Timorese to determine the mission of the United Nations in Timor-Leste through its election by maintaining peace and stability during the election period.

"The Timorese should maintain peace and stability; this is not only to create calm or have a good situation for us but to show to the international people that the Timorese are also democratic people, respect each other and have political maturity. By this we can show the international community that we do not need people from other countries to come to maintain security and other countries should not come to help us organize the elections," said Guterres.

Guterres said that the run-off election campaign is running peacefully, demonstrating that the Timorese people can maintain peace and security.

“We hope that stability will hold well, not only during the elections but that it will be ongoing, because we want to govern ourselves,” said Guterres.

He said that some minor isolated cases continue to happen, but that the Timorese Defence Force (F-FDTL) and the National Police (PNTL) are ready to ensure security during the second round of the presidential election.

Supporters of two candidates attack each other, two injured
Independente (cover page) The recent incident occurred in Osso-Huna Village, Baucau District, in which the supporters of the two presidential candidates attacked each other resulting in two injured people who were hospitalized in Baucau.

One Ruak supporter was also injured when assaulted by supporters of Lu-Olo in Maluro, Quelicai Sub-District on 4April.

Fretilin Coordinator in Baucau, Talik Reis said that their followers were attacked by supporters of Ruak in Osso-Huna Village while the victims were on their way to Baguia.

"The victim sustained a number of injures on his body, his mouth is also swollen," said Reis.

He said that they will hand the case over to the Baucau District Police to resolve it, and that they will continue to contribute to maintenance of peace.

Timorese Police Deputy Commander Afonso de Jesus said that the general security situation is under control even though some minor cases continue to happen.

Bishop da Silva: Using Bishop's picture in campaigning is manipulation
Diário Nacional (cover page)

Bishop for Dili Diocese, Monsignor Alberto Ricardo said that the Catholic Church accuses the promotion team of Lu-Olo of manipulation during their political campaigns as they used the picture of three bishops of Timor-Leste in their political interest.

"Using the picture of a bishop in a political campaign is not good and is considered to be manipulation," said Ricardo.

Gusmão reads Alkatiri and Horta's SMS to the people of Suai
Diário Nacional (cover page)

President of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) Xanana Gusmão shared the short message services (SMS) that he received from Mari Alkatiri and José Ramos-Horta.

"This morning I received a SMS from Alkatiri asking me to stop insulting other people. I said I do not insult other people," said Gusmão, while speaking to the people of Suai, in Covalima District.

“If you keep stoning people, destroying others’ objects and threatening others I will keep telling the population and your militants to become a militant of a good party,” said Gusmão in his message to Alkatiri.

According to Gusmão, if they (Lu-Olo and Alkatiri) mention his name in the campaign it does not mean that they insult him.

Gusmão said that he supports Taur Matan Ruak because he is an independent candidate and a candidate for all the people.

“When a candidate is independent he will gather all the people as Taur Matan Ruak is embracing all Timorese. That is the reason why Xanana is behind Taur Matan Ruak,” said Gusmão.

Throwing stones and breaking bones

I read an article today about how protesters in Barcelona hurled rocks at police, bank offices and shop fronts. We constantly hear in the media about men and women being stoned to death for crimes against Islam, like adultery.

Here, in Timor Leste, the weapon of choice seems to always be the stone. Yesterday, we had to stop because a dog decided to take his break on the road. Some kids witnessed and started throwing stones at the dog to make it move, apparently for them it's better than honking the horn or just shooing it away, which is always my preferred means of handling these situations. Kids, when they play with each other, are constantly throwing stones at one another and if you've been reading this blog from the start, you know that I've also been a 'victim' of stoning when coming out of a nightclub in Dili. I decided to look into the history of stoning - yes, I'll be honest, there hasn't been enough work around here to keep me well occupied, between the regular reports, everything is at a standstill until they start voter education activities next week.

According to the all-knowing site, wikipedia, stoning or lapidation is "a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the case of a judicial executioner. Stoning is slower than other forms of execution, and hence is a form of execution by torture."

However, in Timor's case, stoning is usually never that extreme. People do throw stones when a conflict arises, at most often at other people, but usually never in a collective with the intention to kill. The machete and the rifle have been the weapon of murder during Timor's long war against Indonesia. So why do people feel the need to throw stones, regardless of the target? Is it education, is it ignorance, is it poverty? The concept of throwing stones, albeit abominable to me at the same time, is rather fascinating, much like the Timorese's constant and severe mistreatment of dogs...all I can ask is WHY?

I wanted to know more about Timor's use of stones so I typed in "Timor throws stone" into google and these are some of the headlines that caught my eyes:

"Mob Throws Stones At UN Police In E Timor Before UN Visit Associated Press November 10, 2000"

"A East Timorese youth throws stones during a clash between gangs in Dili ABC News May 6 2011", this one even came with the photo below

"People stone United Nations car after traffic accident leaves a Timorese boy dead ETLJB December 12 2011"

Even travel guides mention it, advising caution when coming to Timor Leste! Here's what Lonely Planet had to say: " Given the regular bouts of political instability in East Timor, check the current situation before you visit (although government travel advisories are usually cautious in the extreme). Outside of mass unrest, political violence is not aimed at non-Timorese. If you see stone throwing or other provocations, vamoose."

What you get from these headlines is also that Timorese don't like the UN, and that is true! The people are waiting anxiously for the day when UNMIT's mandate runs out and every wrong step taken by the UN is a cause for stoning or badmouthing in the press...because of this we tread lightly when interacting with our national counterparts.

This doesn't, of course, mean that if you come to Timor Leste you will most definitely find yourself in stone throwing situations but the likelihood of you witnessing some stone throwing is rather higher than the government would wish. And I guess, in regards to my question of why, the answer problem lies in the fact that the Timorese can be extremely hot-headed and what would seem to you as a normal and perhaps just over-heated argument can quickly escalate into conflict and violence, and the easiest weapon at hand...the stone. Kids see this and copy in their childhood games, not having plastic toy guns to play with stones became the medium and it becomes ingrained in their memory as the weapon of choice...which begs the question, how to change a society's mentality in regards to conflict and its resolution, especially after suffering from more than 20 years of foreign aggression?

Food for thought

After the elections, what happens next?

Three days after the elections, I'm still exhausted and lacking sleep and my body still aches all over from driving!

Yesterday we went through all the materials that were left to start preparing for the second round, which will be held on April 21st. Some boxes were still complete, no items missing, but unfortunately most were missing quite a lot: calculator, stappler, rulers, pens...To be honest you can't really blame them...Timorese people still live in dire poverty even with all the oil money around. That's actually one of the factors that led to the 2007 violence, the people know the money is there but they are not seeing any changes to their living conditions! Look at Maliana, still no electricity 24 hours a day but for election day, both Saturday and Sunday, there WAS electricity 24/7 so the means are there!

The second round promises to be very interesting with Lu'Olo and TMR neck and neck. They were both prominent fighters during the resistance against Indonesia but TMR is older than Lu'Olo and has already addressed his competition publicly claiming that, as he's older, it's his turn now to be president! But Lu'Olo was up ahead of TMR in the poles so will TMR concede if Lu'Olo wins or will he resent the fact that, as his elder, TMR should be the rightful president!! There is also the problem that a lot of people won't understand why they have to vote again, especially in places where TMR and Lu'Olo weren't even contenders, like in Bobonaro where Lasama won with a wide majority and Ramos-Horta came in second, so that's our job (STAE) now to make sure people understand why they need to choose again between these 2 even if they didn't vote for either of them in the first round.

There was also the issue that, while TMR was campaigning and as he is the leader of the Timorese army, soldiers were campaigning for him while armed! CNE is the body in charge of monitoring the campaigns and the elections and has already sent in electoral offences to deal with this situation but I find it very irresponsible to use the army at all to campaign, it can instill unecessary fear in the voters! Also, I don't know how I feel about having a military man as head of the country, I'm not quite sure it's the right way to lead Timor into the future and possibly into ASEAN.
This looks to be one interesting campaign indeed, I just hope that the Timorese will let it run as smoothly and peacefully as this election just passed. 

In the meantime here are some interesting post-election news :)

National NewsFretilin's Lu-Olo takes the lead in presidential election
Timornewsline

Presidential Candidate Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres from the Fretilin Party is currently in the lead in the presidential election with 123,751 votes (28.38 %), while the ex-army commander, Taur Matan Ruak is in second place with 109,338 votes (25.07%).

The incumbent President José Ramos-Horta is in third place with 78,423 votes (17.98%).

Presidential candidate Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo, who is also the country's president of Parliament, is in fourth place with 77,447 votes (17.76%).


Presidential election runs peacefully, CNE congratulates PNTL
Suara Timor Lorosae (cover page)

National Election Commission, Commissioner Angelina Sarmento congratulated the PNTL on its support to guarantee security in the presidential election.

"I congratulate the Timorese people and the National Police on their efforts to guarantee the presidential election with peace and tranquillity," said Sarmento.

PNTL Deputy General Commander Afonso de Jesus said that he appreciates Timorese people who are able to participate in democracy with peace and unity.

"Even though the first round of the presidential election is complete, PNTL continues to support security in the country," said de Jesus.

UNPOL Commissioner Luis Carrilho said that he is pleased with the Timorese people as they understood and respected PNTL and UNPOL role to secure the election process.


Ruak and Lu-Olo go to second round
Independente (cover page)

The presidential election provisional results show that there is no major winner in the election, and that presidential candidates Taur Matan Ruak and Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres will move to the second round.

The total votes for Lu-Olo is 28.31% and for Taur Matan Ruak is 25.04%.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão called on all citizens to accept the election results.

"I am calling on the youth and candidates’ supporters to show to ourselves and the world that we are able to maintain the growth of democracy and maintain tolerance and respect," said Gusmão.


Horta: I am happy to receive the election results
Diário Nacional 19 March 2012

Presidential candidate José Ramos-Horta said that he is pleased with the results, whether he wins or loses the race to become president of the republic.

Ramos-Horta spoke to journalists at the voting centre in Metiaut, Dili on Saturday.

Horta said that Lu-Olo, Lasama, TMR, and Jose Luis Guterres are able to lead Timor-Leste into the future, and encouraged them to strengthen peace, unity and stability if the Timorese people elect any of them to be president.

Horta said that he appreciates the efforts of Timorese people to strengthen stability from the first day of the campaign up to election day.


CNE files 10 electoral offenses, three submitted to Public Prosecution
Independente (cover page)

The National Election Commission (CNE) President Faustino Cardoso said that they identified ten electoral offenses and they already submitted three of them to the Public Prosecution.

"CNE received 10 cases presented by Ruak’s promotion team, the Timor-Leste Press Club (TLPC), Partido Republicano, from the promotion team of Lu-Olo,"

"CNE responded to such claims and some of them have been resolved. Three of them as electoral offenses have been sent to the Public," said Cardoso.

He added that the campaigns went well within 15 days, even though there an incident occurred but it did not have a major impact.


Lasama worried about Gusmão’s presence at STAE
Diário Nacional, 19 March 2012

Presidential candidate Fernando de Araujo Lasama declared his concerns to STAE-CNE about the presence of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão at STAE’s office.

Lasama made the comment at CNE’s office on 16 March while meeting with the 12 presidential candidates and the promotion teams about the election.

Lasama said that Gusmão is also a campaigner for TMR; therefore, Lasama is worried that Gusmão’s presence at the STAE office may interfere in STAE’s duties.

However, Lasama believes that Gusmão did not do anything at STAE’s office.

STAE Director Tomas Cabral said that article 12 says that STAE is accountable to the government; Cabral added that the prime minister’s presence at STAE was to support STAE to speed up the distribution of ballot papers to the districts.


Horta says that electoral law drafters are brainless
Independente (cover page)

President of the Republic José Ramos-Horta said that whoever drafted the electoral law is brainless, because the law forces people who have no money to pay for public transportation to return to their homes to vote in their villages.

"I was sad when I passed through Manatuto I saw thousands of people in open trucks and on motorbikes who went back to their villages even though it was raining,’

"I am angry because the electoral law forces poor people and small vendors in Hali-Laran and Comoro markets who have no money but they have to go to their districts such as Baucau, Lospalos, Ainaro, Aileu and others,’

"It seems that whoever produced the law has no brain. People have to spend US$30 to go to Oecussi and Suai. It made me upset with the electoral law. We produce the law to facilitate people to participate [in the election] and not to make them face difficulties," said Horta.


Lu-Olo: No political force can divide Fretilin party
Suara Timor Lorosae (cover page)

President of the Fretilin Party, Francisco Guterres ‘Lu-Olo’ said that he received a lot of votes in the eastern part of Timor-Leste, which means that no political force is able to divide Fretilin party members in those districts.

Lu-Olo said that the party is still strong because since the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2007 Fretilin has consistently received a lot of votes in those districts.

Lu-Olo said that he is fully confident to win the presidential election because his supporters are committed to vote for him to become the next president of the republic.


International News

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta admits poll defeat
BBC News Asia, 19 March 2012

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has admitted defeat and congratulated his rivals after the first round of the country's presidential election.

Mr Ramos-Horta said he would hand over power to the winner on 19 May.

Opposition leader Francisco Guterres and former guerrilla leader Taur Matan Ruak were ahead after at least 70% of the votes were counted, based on data from the election commission.

The two candidates face a run-off on 21 April.

The electoral commission is still counting the votes and has yet to announce the final results. So far, Mr Guterres has a narrow lead over Mr Ruak, with Mr Ramos-Horta trailing in third place.

"I congratulate the two candidates who continue into the second round," he said at a news conference.

Mr Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner, has been a key figure in East Timor politics since 1999. He defeated Mr Guterres in the 2007 run-off after coming second in the first round.

He served as foreign minister, prime minister and eventually president from 2007.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial role, but the election comes in a year of security transition, with UN forces scheduled to leave by the end of the year.

East Timor gained independence in 2002 after three years of UN administration, which followed more than two decades of bloody guerrilla warfare during Indonesian rule.

Twelve candidates took part in this election.


Peaceful polls
News Straits Times (Malaysia), 19 March 2012

AT the time of this writing, incumbent Nobel Prize-winning President Jose Ramos-Horta was trailing in third place in the presidential polls in Timor Leste. The front runner was leader of the main opposition Fretilin Party, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, who also won the first round of the 2007 presidential election. Coming in second place was former army chief Taur Matan Ruak, who is backed by the National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor, the party of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. In fourth place was speaker of parliament Fernando Lasama de Araujo, who came in third in the first round in 2007 and endorsed Ramos-Horta in the second round. In other words, the early results show that the race for the presidency of Timor Leste is running true to form.

It was widely expected that it would be a three-way battle between Gutteres, Ruak and Ramos-Horta, with de Araujo a possible dark horse, and the other eight candidates contesting the elections unlikely to receive significant support. Though it is much too early to say who will eventually emerge as the top two, whatever the final results may be, what is clear is that a run-off would be necessary as it was five years ago. The closeness of the race points to the fact that there will be no outright winner with a clear majority.

What is also clear is that the people of Timor Leste turned out in larger numbers -- 626,000 this year compared with 524,000 five years ago -- and were able to cast their votes free from intimidation, threats and violence. This is not to say that past presidential elections have been violent. Indeed, the first one in 2002 and the second in 2007 were largely incident-free. But the same cannot be said of the country in general. Indeed, the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2007 were held against a backdrop of the violence that broke out following the military mutiny in 2006. In 2008, there were attempts to assassinate the president and prime minister. But since then, the security situation has improved.

The fact that the campaign period and election day in the first round of this year's presidential polls have been virtually free of violence is further testimony to the political progress that has been made. At this rate, this young nation will have much to celebrate when it marks the 10th year of its founding in May. The hope is that when Timor Leste again goes to the polls in June, things will be just as peaceful.


Ramos-Horta out as East Timor heads for run-off
The Western Australia/AFP, 19 March 2012

DILI - East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has lost his bid for re-election, failing to make it to a run-off in the country's second presidential vote as a free nation, preliminary results showed Sunday.

The results pointed to a second-round showdown between the opposition Fretilin party's Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres and former armed forces chief Taur Matan Ruak, an official from the election secretariat said.

Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring peace to his homeland, lagged in third place after more than 70 percent of votes were counted, official Luiz Fernando Valls told AFP.

"Guterres and Ruak will go through to the second round on April 16, based on this preliminary count," he said.

The shift to candidates with lower profiles on the world stage was "emblematic of the desire to move on from being an international cause", Michael Leach, politics lecturer from Australia's Swinburne University of Technology, told AFP.

It reflected the people of East Timor's desire "to move on from 10 years of international state building", he added.

Ramos Horta, a popular leader who survived a 2008 assassination attempt, said Saturday that if he was not re-elected he would have "to struggle to choose what to do".

The 62-year-old added that he had a long-standing commitment to a Western literary agency to write a book.

None of the 12 candidates who contested Saturday's election were able to garner more than 50 percent of the vote constitutionally required for an outright win.

The vote was the first in a series of key events for the poor and chronically unstable country as it enters a pivotal period.

In May, East Timor will celebrate 10 years of independence from Indonesia, and in June, voters will choose a new government in a general election.

At the end of the year the nation of 1.1 million people bids goodbye to UN forces stationed in the country since 1999.

The preliminary results showed Guterres on around 28 percent, Ruak on 25 percent, and Ramos on 18 percent, with 460,216 votes or about 73 percent of the total votes cast counted, Valls said.

Guterres, 57, who heads the opposition Fretilin party, which is synonymous with the resistance, lost the presidency to Ramos-Horta in a run-off in 2007.

Ruak, 56, who has campaigned in his camouflage fatigues, has vowed to introduce mandatory military service if elected.

He is in the run-off despite being accused by the United Nations of illegal weapons transfers in 2006, when rioting and factional fighting had the nation on the brink of civil war.

Around the country Sunday, Timorese people had their eyes glued to their television sets, watching the changing figures broadcast live by the country's electoral commission on state radio and television.

Everyone from shopkeepers selling traditional handicrafts in Dili's Tias market to candidates' spokesmen mingling with journalists was talking about who would emerge on top.

Votes were being counted by hand, some in remote areas with poor communications, and full results were not due until later in the week, according to election officials.

National election commission president Faustino Cardoso Gomes told a press conference earlier there were "some irregularities" during the election process.

"Some polling stations ran out of ballot papers, for instance in Dili and some other places, but all have been resolved," he said.

Thomas Cabral, head of elections secretariat overseeing the polls, said heavy rains during the elections had affected voter turnout and the transport of ballot papers in some cities.


Opposition Leader Leads in Timor Leste's Presidential Election
Xinhua (China), 18 March 2012

Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, leader of Timor Leste main opposition Fretilin party, is leading in the preliminary result of the presidential election released on midday Sunday.

Among the 328,946 valid votes that have been counted, Lu- Olo won 27.62 percent or more than 90,000 votes, said Tomas de Rorario Cabral, director general of the election management body of STAE.

Lu- Olo was trailed by former armed forces chief General Taur Matan Ruak, who secured 24.23 percent of the votes. Incumbent President Jose Ramos-Horta and Democratic Party chief Fernando Lasama de Araujo ranked the third and fourth place, winning 19.13 percent and 17.78 percent of the votes respectively.

The number of voters have surged from 524,000 in 2007 to more than 626,000 this year, according to the National Commission of Election. A runoff will take place in April if no candidate secures an absolute majority in the first round.

Ramos-Horta won the 2007 election against Lu-Olo in the runoff with the backing of Gusmao's National Reconstruction Congress of Timor Leste party or CNRT.

CNRT did not name its candidate in the election but supports former armed forces chief Taur Matan Ruak.

President in Timor Leste is generally considered playing merely a ceremonial role, but Saturday's poll is crucial to gauge the popularity of Fretilin, the resistance movement that fought for Timor Leste's independence, ahead of the June parliamentary election.


E. Timor's oil 'no solution' to grinding poverty
Agence France-Presse, 18 March 2012

East Timor's oil sector may be pouring more money than ever into state coffers but the grinding poverty on the dirt streets of the capital underlines the challenge facing whoever emerges as the winner of weekend elections.

The half-island nation went to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president to preside over a country where about half the 1.1 million population lives below the poverty line.

East Timor is the world's most oil-dependent economy with energy reserves accounting for around 90 percent of state revenue.

Although oil and gas have bolstered the treasury -- its Petroleum Fund recently swelled to $10 billion -- the majority of the population survive on agriculture, prompting warnings that energy alone is not the solution for Asia's poorest nation.

In Dili, rains bring mud canals that cut through shanty town neighbourhoods of huts slapped together with wooden planks and rusted tin roofs.

Destitute children without a stitch of clothing play in the streets alongside pigs, chickens and stray dogs.

Infrastructure is limited to a few paved roads, a single port and a tiny airport with one baggage carousel. There is no local currency -- everything runs on US dollars.

The abject poverty, in a country celebrating its first decade of independence from Indonesia's 24-year brutal and destructive military occupation, has fuelled heated debate about how to use the Petroleum Fund.

Incumbent President Jose Ramos Horta, a Nobel laureate who is up against 11 other candidates, has promised to prioritise infrastructure, health and education if re-elected.

The fund, established by the government in 2005 to ensure sustainable use of energy revenues, is invested in US bonds and other assets.

But the long-term viability of the East Timor's energy business is contested, with modest exports from offshore fields it shares with Australia compounding concerns that proven reserves are relatively small.

"This is a petrol state without much petrol," said Charles Scheiner of local independent development organisation La'o Hamutuk.

"The government must concentrate on agriculture, fishing, tourism and other sustainable industries instead of pouring resources into developing the energy sector, which one day will dry up."

The organisation believes oil and gas will enrich foreign companies and an emerging elite, but leave the rest of the population behind.

Gualdino da Silva, president of the National Petroleum Authority, told AFP the Petroleum Fund grew to $10 billion as of Wednesday.

Most of the money comes from a project in the Timor Sea operated by ConocoPhillips.

But Kitan, an offshore oil field operated by ENI, has not been profitable since starting operations about eight months ago, da Silva added.

East Timor's hopes of an energy bonanza are pinned to the offshore Greater Sunrise gas and oil field, which is at the heart of a dispute with Australia over which country should receive the gas for refining.

It contains about 5.13 trillion cubic feet of dry gas and 225.9 million barrels of condensate, according to Woodside, its Australian operator.

Lawmaker Aderito Hugo Da Costa believes the contested field is "crucial" to the nation's future.

"If it is resolved in our favour it will create jobs, build infrastructure and transform the face of East Timor," he said.

But others remain unconvinced.

La'o Hamutuk estimates energy reserves will generate about $50 billion over 40 years -- even assuming that 70 times more oil and gas are found in the future.

"That is about $1.88 for each citizen for each day," Scheiner said. "Petroleum is not a solution to East Timor's future problems."


Australia says troops could soon leave East Timor
Associated Press, 19 March 2012

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith says parliamentary elections planned in East Timor could allow international troops to begin withdrawing after six years of restoring stability to the fledgling Southeast Asian nation.

Smith on Monday welcomed the success of weekend presidential elections. The official results won't be known until Tuesday, but the incumbent, Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta, had nowhere near the support needed to advance to an April 21 run-off between the two front-runners.

Smith says if the run-off election and June parliamentary elections are similarly successful, Australia will discuss with the government, United Nations and New Zealand a drawdown of the 470 Australian and New Zealand troops stationed in East Timor.

E-Day: A celebration!

Dear reader,

Have you voted?
If so, how? If it's raining or snowing, do you bother?
I'm 30 years old so I have not yet voted many times since I've been allowed to vote but the process has always been easy as I lived only 5 minutes from my polling station. I have to admit I have also taken voting for granted. I didn't live during the dictatorship, my parents did but I didn't. And my parents aren't very political people so we never had huge discussions at home about which party shoud win or not, we knew which party we followed and why, sometimes we weren't very happy with our leaders but that never led to any real arguments at home about politics although we do love politics. It doesn't help also that my grandfather is right-wing and I am left-wing as it doesn't leave much room for discussions with him either, but voting as always been something that you do, it's your right so you do it!

Here, the right to vote and the right to independence has been fought through many years of blood and tears. There isn't one family that wasn't affected by the war against Indonesia, every family has lost someone they loved. The Timorese people have fought for this right and they are proud to vote, they love to vote and they vote!

Saturday morning all the polling stations of Timor opened bright and early at 7am, people lined up ready with their election cards in hand to show their right to vote. They cast their ballots, they dipped their fingers in ink - it was interesting to see how some people were actually afraid of dipping their fingers in the pot, as if they're expecting the sensation to be scary! - and they smiled because they voted, because they have the right to choose their leaders, to choose their future.

The voting part was easy. The hard part came when you had to count and the hardest part came for us when we had to go to each and every one of the 68 polling centers in Bobonaro to pick up the ballot boxes containing all the ballots and the results for each polling station and bring them back to Maliana for tabulation. We had 40 cars for STAE - the only ones allowed to carry the ballot boxes (including the UNVs cars) - along with PNTL cars and UNPOL cars to escort each STAE car, and then we had CNE cars as well to monitor the process...we had A LOT of cars!

The polling stations closed at 3 in the afternoon, most of them had already finished by 1pm, everyone that could and wanted had already voted, they were just waiting for the official closing time. At the polling station I was monitoring in Bobonaro sub-district, Ilat-Laun, the elders held a dancing ceremony to celebrate the occasion, everyone was happy, it was a beautiful sight.

At 3pm everyone was called over to observe the count, the ballot boxes were open, the ballots spread out, arranged into neat piles awaiting for the count. And it started....if the rest of Timor followed what happened in Ilta-laun we wouldn't even need a second round! Ramos Horta, the incumbent, won by a wide majority with 438 votes against 168 to Lasama, 60 to Lu'Olo and 53 to TMR. I thought to myself, well this will be easy! By the time every vote had been counted it was already 5:30, we still had to go to 2 other polling centers to pick up their ballots, it was already starting to get dark and it had been raining on and off meaning the roads would be muddy and slippery, ie. dangerous.

By 6:30 we arrived at our second destination, Soilesu, where I asked what the result had been, Lasama had won there and Ramos Horta was not even close! Then we moved to Atuaben, the last polling center we were in charge of, Lasama won there again...Lasama had already won Bobonaro district back in 2007 so it was to be expected that he would carry the majority. By 7:30 we were on the road ready to leave for Maliana, I thought, great, we'll be back at headquarters by 9pm. Unfortunately, that was not to be...as we were driving, other cars started joining us, we had to stop on several occasions to wait for other cars and we were asked by other convoys to wait for them at the Lolotoe-Bobonaro junction. It was already pitch black, it had rained and it was cold! It was the first time I actually felt cold in Timor Leste! We waited for the convoy from Loloteo to join us, then we waited for the convoy from the inacessible areas to arrive - they took longer because STAE officials actually had to carry the ballot boxes to where the cars coundn't pass anymore. By the time the convoy was ready it was already 10:45 at night, I was dead tired, I had been driving all day but luckily by this time my colleague had taken the wheel. I was worried about the roads, we had already lost one UNPOL car in Atabae subdistrict - the road they were travelling on caved in and the car fell down a 1.2m drop! Luckily no one was hurt...this sub-district was of course the last to arrive at tabulation because the roads were simply not passable (and ps. this was the polling station I had been assigned to!!!! Good thing we were able to convince our coordinator to change the plan!).

Our convoy was composed of more than 30 cars, going downhill towards Maliana, all the lights on, it was a grand sight! Like a very colourful snake trying to reach its prey, very very slowly! We arrived at Maliana headquarters at a quarter to midnight, by that time we were only missing Atabae sub-district and one polling station from Balibo. The LCD screen was lit with the results so far, the STAE officials were working hard, recounting all the votes to make sure it was correct, the observers and candidate representatives were there, everyone was exhausted but everyone was smiling, it was glorious! We took a break from counting at 4am and then started up again at 9am. I, along with my STAE UNV colleagues, was there, counting each and every ballot, trying to speed the process along, helping when there was a doubt. It was truly amazing to be a part of something so special...You have to remember, this is the first time that the Timorese are doing the elections all by themselves! We are only there for support, we don't tell them what or how to do it, we only help them when they ask!

Some mistakes were made of course, but they worked out how to resolve them and when they did it was transparent through clear explanations to the observing public of what had happened and how they would solve it, again, they are allowed mistakes, to err is human but to learn from it is divine! We finished the count, after all had been said and argued, at 7pm on Sunday night, we clapped and laughed and hugged! By this time tabulation had been going on for 20 some hours!! The final 'Aktas' were packed into a ballot box with the results for Bobonaro district and were sent on their way to Dili with another convoy to join up with the national tabulation. We went home, beaten, battered, exhausted but happy, happy that we had witnessed such an important event in this country's history.

For this, it was all worth it, the back-breaking roads, the lost-in-translation arguments, the aching arms from lifting boxes and more boxes and the hours put in to organize the elections, it was all absolutely worth it!

By the time we went to sleep last night, Lu'olo and TMR were the two contenders for the second round. There's lot to be said about having these two particular candidates running against each other but I have written enough...this will be for another story.

I want to congratulate the people of Timor Leste, the elections ran peacefully, they have proven their worth and right to democracy and thank them for letting me be a part of it!

UN forces ready as back-up in East Timor election

Some news prior to election day...

News Malaysia, 16 March 2012

More than 1,200 UN forces are ready to intervene in East Timor's presidential election this weekend if there is an outbreak of major violence, the top UN official in the country said Friday.

East Timor, which gained formal independence from Indonesia a decade ago, will hold its second presidential poll as a free country Saturday with a line-up that includes the incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate.

Ameerah Haq, the UN secretary-general's special representative for East Timor, told AFP that the campaign period had gone "remarkably well".

The peaceful run-up to the election stands in stark contrast to the rioting and factional fighting that erupted in 2006 ahead of elections the following year, which left at least 37 dead and pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

Last year the UN officially handed security responsibilities back to to East Timor police, although around 1,200 UN forces remain in the country. The country's own security forces will officially safeguard the election but UN forces were ready to step up if needed, Haq said.

"The internal security institutions are much stronger, and we are only here to support them. Right now there is capacity within their own security institutions to handle any outbreak of violence," she said.

"Obviously, if there is something major and widespread we are still here until the end of December."

UN forces have been stationed on the half-island nation of 1.1 million people since the 1999 vote for independence and are due to pull out at the end of the year.

Twelve candidates are running for the presidency but the race is expected to be a three-way contest between Ramos-Horta, the Fretilin party's Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres and former armed forces chief Taur Matan Ruak.

Ramos-Horta won in a second-round of voting against Guterres in 2007, buoyed by the support of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT) party.

But this time the party is backing Ruak, amid signs that the president and prime minister no longer see eye-to-eye on many issues. Ramos-Horta has become increasingly critical of Gusmao's government.

Ruak, who did not run in the 2007 election, is regarded as a hero for his record as a guerrilla leader during Indonesia's 24-year occupation and is seen as the wild card in Saturday's poll.

Rallies by Guterres and Ruak have pulled in the largest number of supporters.

Two weeks of campaigning officially came to a halt on Thursday, two days ahead of the polls.

"In our estimation things have gone very well as the campaigning period is concerned," Haq said, noting that no serious violations or incidents were reported.

Haq said the the UN was providing logistical support to the candidates and elections, including helicopter service to transport ballot papers to remote regions of the impoverished nation, which is virtually without infrastructure.

President Ramos-Horta faces re-election battle in East Timor
AlertNet/Reuters, 16 March 2012, By Tito Belo

DILI, March 16 (Reuters) - Nobel Peace prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta faces a battle on Saturday to win re-election as president of East Timor with 11 other candidates standing, several of whom also played major roles in the nation struggle for independence from Indonesia.

The president of Asia newest and poorest nation plays little role in policy but is vital in projecting stability in East Timor after its bloody struggle for independence in 2002 and scattered violence around parliamentary elections in 2007.

Ramos-Horta, who survived an assassination attempt in 2008, shared the Nobel prize in 1996 for working for a peaceful solution to the East Timor conflict and his key role in the independence movement appeals to voters.

More than 9,000 supporters signed a petition asking Ramos-Horta to stand in the March 17 presidential election.

"If I am elected for a second term I will continue my success that I have achieved now, which is peace," Ramos-Horta told a crowd in Maliana district, southwest of the capital Dili, on Wednesday.

During East Timor long campaign for independence, Ramos-Horta lived in exile, acting as a defacto foreign minister and drumming up international support for independence.

One of his main rivals will be former army chief and guerrilla leader Jose Maria de Vasconcelos, also known as Taur Matan Ruak.

"I fought for 24 years with (former guerilla leader and now Prime Minister) Xanana Gusmao and the people for the independence of East Timor," Matan Ruak said in a speech.

"Ten years after independence people are still poor and this has become my responsibility to be the president and bring hope to all citizens," he said.

Analysts said other rivals with a good chance to progress to a second round of voting on May 9 are Francisco Guterres from the Fretilin party that won the most votes in the parliamentary poll in 2007 and Fernando de Araujo of the Democratic Party.

East Timor is Asia poorest nation but it has vast offshore natural gas reserves and is strugggling to unlock this wealth.

For many voters economic issues are key, as 41 percent of East Timor 1.2 million people live below $0.88 a day, according to a World Bank report, and malnourishment is a significant public health issue.

One of the main problems for East Timor leaders is a dispute with Australia Woodside Petroleum over the development of a big offshore gas field.

Woodside, which heads a consortium of firms developing the Greater Sunrise project gas field, wants to use a floating LNG plant, while East Timor wants the plant to be built onshore in order to create jobs.

The value of a petroleum fund has jumped to $6.9 billion in 2010 from $370 million in 2004 but is yet to be fully used to build the economy, said Damien Kingsbury, a professor from Australia Deakin University.

The presidential campaign, which formally ended on Wednesday, was conducted through a series of rallies at which candidates vied to project a message of peace and stability.

Supporters plastered the dusty capital Dili with posters and toured on motor-bikes or campaign carts blasting out slogans.

"There is progress this year. I can feel this celebration of democracy and a growing tolerance among people and I feel I have my freedom to vote for the person I like," student Laurinda Beti Pinto told Reuters by phone from Dili.

The peaceful campaign has been in itself an achievement, said Cillian Nolan, Southeast Asia expert with the International Crisis Group think tank.

"These elections for many Timorese are an exercise in trying to develop more confidence to where the country is going and to project that image to the outside world," Nolan told Reuters.

(Additional reporting and writing by Olivia Rondonuwu in JAKARTA; Editing by Matthew Bigg and Michael Perry)


Australia to decide future of Timor force
Herald Sun/AAP, 16 March 2012

AUSTRALIA is set to decide the future of its military presence in East Timor after the country's parliamentary elections due in June.

Defence force chief General David Hurley said East Timor's armed forces, the FFDTL, did not depend on Australian troops and were quite capable of independent operations.

He said they and East Timorese police would take responsibility for security in the presidential elections being held this weekend and the parliamentary elections to be held in June.

"We are really a third- or fourth-tier force behind the UN police force and the national forces," he told a parliamentary committee.

General Hurley said the Australian force would remain at its current strength and structure until after the parliamentary elections.

"Then we will go into discussions with the Government of Timor Leste about the form of Australia's future security or defence engagement," he said.

"There are a number of options."

Currently there are some 390 Australian troops in East Timor. With 70 soldiers from New Zealand, they make up the International Stabilisation Force.

As security in East Timor has improved, troop numbers have been progressively reduced.

General Hurley said Australia could stay in East Timor with a smaller force or move to a traditional defence cooperation program in which it would assist with training.

The drop-off convoy

It didn't rain all day yesterday, however the sun was still a no-show.
At 8 in the evening we got word from Dili that the helicopter plan was back on! So we had to get the boxes and cabins ready to be sent to the helipad, however, there was a problem of protection... The CNE (National Elections commission) was worried about using the helicopter because a police officer could not go and accompany the boxes after arrival so in the end, and to the ever-mounting stress of the STAE coordinator, the helicopter was cancelled, again! But by the time I went home, I was confident that all that needed to be done was done and that the drop-off would go without a hitch, as long as it didn't rain, fingers crossed!

We (my flatmates and I) thought we were gonna have an early night in, we knew we had to get up early, however that was not to be...one of my flatmates had to work a night shift, when he got home at around midnight, our gate was closed with a padlock...he honked the horn, he called the security guard's name over and over but nothing worked, he called us then to come and see what was wrong with the security guard, I mean, maybe he was dead! All 4 of us were outside in our pj's trying to wake up the security guard - we needed the keys to the lock after all - but nothing work, the guy would not wake up, not even after having his body shaken like an earthquake! Another guard that lived nearby had to come, climb the fence and get the key in order to let C come in with the car!! I mean, the guy must have been drunk but still, how can someone not wake up through all the noise we made...let alone the fact that he's the security guard, his job IS to stay awake at night!!! We all ended up having a good laugh about it, at least it didn't happen in the morning when we had to go to work!

So, after a restless night, this morning started bright and early at 6am, one good thing about this is that the electricity was still on, it had been a while since I hadn't showered in the dark! By 7am we were at STAE headquarters ready for the big hand-over ceremony where the head of STAE (Technical Secretariat for the Administration of Elections) handed the first ballot box to the Brigada (presiding officer) of the first polling station in Bobonaro district and started the whole process of delivering the ballot boxes to their destinations. We have 68 polling centres and 81 polling stations in Bobonaro and about 40 cars to get the job done!

We started packing the cars at 10am, it started raining so out come the canvas sheets to protect the material. Luckily, it didn't last long and we didn't see anymore rain today which was really, really lucky. The roads, if we can call them that, were terrible, horrible! I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy, that's how bad they were! I did these roads 2 weeks ago when I went in search of gps coordinates...I couldnt' recognize some of them! The rains from this week destroyed some of them, created seas of mud in others and enlarged the already existing holes in all of them!

We went in convoy, with PNTL and UNPOL at the ends to guard the material. I had sensitive material, ballot boxes and cabins and then 6 people on top...I was driving a pick-up and the sensitive material got the place of honour in the back so I had 5 people in the back on top of the material hanging on for dear life against the heart-racing hills, the crevices, the jaw-dropping falls and the wind, it was really windy today! On one up-hill turn the back of the car swerved and I swear I almost thought, 'oh crap, this is it!' The worst was the speed, because we were in a convoy we had to go quite slowly which made it harder to go up hill let alone see the holes in front of you...We were nearly there, I just have a very narrow muddy space in front, the car in front had managed and when it's my turn the car starts to slide into the ditch! I stopped it just in time but we still needed the ropes to get it out! Lucky was that we had about 20 guys to help! C had gotten stuck in the same place the week before but even deeper and there was no other car to help him that time! We got the car out and made it to our first destination, Bobonaro city, then we divided into our separate corners. I was in charge, along with my colleague T, of 3 polling stations: Ilat-Luan, Atuaben and Soelesu. The roads were so bad I was going on first gear all the way and at about 10km an hour!

But we made it! We got all the materials to their destinations, we dropped off the Brigadas and the PNTL that are in charge of protecting the material overnight and we hightailed back to Maliana, which, without a convoy was a breeze!

And through all this we had to communicate to our security base at every stop and every drop-off point: "Sierra Mike Base, this is Echo Mike 144 over", "Echo Mike 144 this is Sierra Mike Base, we hear you loud and clear, say your message over"...After watching so many action movies, this part I really enjoy :p

Tomorrow we go back to our assigned polling stations to pick up the materials after the vote. The voting ends at 3 in the afternoon,.after the votes need to be taken to the polling centres and counted and then the Aktas (official forms with the results for each polling station) need to be sent to Maliana tabulation centre where it is counted up,which means we will probably be driving during the night... then they will be taken to Dili...luckily I'm not in charge of taking these Aktas to Dili otherwise I would be looking at a very long day...the count needs to be done within 72 hours of the finish of voting...meaning some districts will need to travel during the night to reach Dili!

I just keep hoping that it won't rain tomorrow!! Please, please, let the roads be somewhat dry!

Tempers are running high and the pressure is mounting!

We are now E-Day -3!
It has rained more in the last 4 days than in all the time that I have been in Timor Leste, it is still raining...
The rivers are flooding, the roads are being cut off and they are already people being displaced by the water.
And to think that there is a terrible drought in Portugal at the moment!

My first thought back in January, when I was told that the Wet Season went until April, was "Who in their right mind holds presidential elections during the rainy season?" Especially if you consider the limitations of this country, which, unfortunately, are still many. In a developed country this rain would not be considered a problem, the roads would be in perfect condition and communications throughout the country would be stable, not to mention that people would be prepared and organized with a proper contingency plan ready for action if needed. The same is not happening in Timor, much to our frustration and dismay but yet things seem to get done!

As I mentioned in the last post, the chopper had a hard time just getting to Maliana. It didn't make it to the other districts so their ballot papers didn't arrive until Tuesday. We have finally received the last of the materials, including the ink, but only because they were sent by car instead of, as previously planned, by helicopter.

Yesterday, tempers were running high in STAE headquarters in Dili. When the Chairman of STAE was told by the UN that if it keeps raining as it has on  drop-off day and election day - to clarify, all the material has to be sent to the polling stations the day before the elections where they will be guarded through the night by a police officer and they will be picked up again after the end of voting on election day - he flipped! He started saying that if the UN isn't prepared to work with STAE then they should just pack up and leave, that STAE is capable of doing the elections without the help of the UN! In one sense, that's great, the whole purpose of the UN support is to provide ownership of the election process to the country we're assisting, so if they think they can do it without us, wonderful! The problem is that they can't, not just yet anyways! Hopefully these elections will prove that they are ready to be handed the reigns but all the process still came through because of UN support and finance...

We dont understand if it's a question of pride but to me, at least, it seems very unreasonable to think that the UN choppers can fly through tropical rains with 120k winds! They just can't, hence the reason for having contingency plans in the first place...maybe they're just not capable of thinking of different scenarios at the same time, I don't know, it baffles me to be honest!

We're having the same problem at district level. We, the UNVs, have been assigned the two sub-districts that require MOP - authorization from our security officer to travel - to drop off the electoral material and pick them up on election day. We have tried to explain to STAE that if the road conditions are bad, our security officer forbids us to travel and that if we do travel and something happens to us, we will have no insurance or assistance because we disobeyed the rules of UN security. When we talk about security they (STAE) thinks we're talking about violence so they say "It's true the roads are bad, very bad, but there is no problem with security" !! I guess they don't consider the conditions of the roads to be a risk factor when for us that is really the only risk factor that matters!

But the ballot boxes are ready and packed, the ballot papers are here, the ink is here, the cars should be arriving tomorrow - they were supposed to be here today but oh well - the MOPs have been sent in, so now it's just a matter of waiting, doing some night guarding and hoping that it will all work out in the end...

So, honestly, come rain or shine I'm positive these elections will go through, I just don't know what our involvement is going to be... that is, if the roads are closed and our security officer tells us "No!"

I just keep hoping for sun and a lot of it!