E. Timor still plans August elections

E. Timor still plans August elections

DILI (AP): East Timor's UN administrators said on Tuesday they would push ahead with historic elections in August despite fears of unrest.

UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello has signed an order for elections determining a new governing assembly to proceed on Aug. 30 as planned, said UN spokesperson Barbara Reis.

The 88-member assembly will help draft a constitution and steer the nascent nation to full independence sometime next year. Campaigning for the elections will officially start on July 15.

The decision comes despite calls from some East Timorese political leaders for the poll to be postponed due to fears that fighting may break out among supporters of rival parties.

Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council in New York that the UN peacekeeping force and civilian police were gearing up for an increase in politically motivated violence ahead of the elections.