First results indicate tight race in E. Timor

First results indicate tight race in E. Timor

DILI, East Timor (Agencies): The party that led East Timor to
independence will capture the largest slice of seats in the
fledgling nation's legislature, but with a slimmer majority than
party leaders had anticipated, according to initial results
released on Monday.

The announcement came as a surprise for many election
observers who had predicted a landslide victory for the
Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor - Fretelin.

The UN's chief electoral officer Carlos Valenuela said
Fretelin had taken the lead after votes from three of East
Timor's 13 districts had been counted.

From the districts of Aileu, Covlima and Lautem, Fretelin won
the majority of votes at a local level, giving it three seats in
the constitutional assembly. At the national level, Fretelin won
most of votes in Covlima, but in Aileu was beaten by the
Association of Social Democrats of Timor, or ASDT party. Votes on
the national level from Lautem were yet to be tallied.

Fretelin party leader Mari Alkariri said last week that his
party expected to control 85 percent of the seats in the 88-
member assembly.

It remained unclear whether Fretelin would win a comfortable
majority and obtain a clear mandate to form the new government
when counting is completed and official results are announced
next week.

"I think Fretelin will do well and probably get over half the
vote," said Johanna Kao, the director of the U.S. International
Republican Institute in East Timor. "But I don't think they will
get the full 85 percent because the smaller parties have been
working hard to get their message out."

Thursday's election for the assembly that will draft East
Timor's constitution was seen as a crucial step in the process of
preparing the half-island territory for independence next year.

The assembly is likely to adopt a presidential system of
government, with elections for the new head of state expected by
next April.

Xanana Gusmao, a charismatic former separatist guerrilla
leader, is likely to become the first president.

The assembly itself will be transformed into the country's
first parliament.

Meanwhile, East Timor will remain under the UN transitional
administration that has been running the province since it voted
to break free of Indonesia exactly two years ago after more than
two decades of military occupation.

The world body expects to gradually turn the running of the
country to the new authorities over the next 6 to 8 months.

On Sunday, the leader of a long-established party, the
Timorese Democratic Union said the result would be invalid
because electoral officials had allowed people who were not
registered to vote to cast their ballots.

Joao Carrascalao also complained about other irregularities
during the ballot but did not elaborate.

A total of 409,000 East Timorese were registered for the poll,
but the United Nations said about 425,000 were eligible to vote.
The world body and international observers have described the
Aug. 30 vote as free and fair.

Two watchdog groups said on Monday that the winners of last
week's historic election in East Timor must listen to the people
when drafting a constitution as a prelude to independence.

"It is imperative that the constituent assembly provides
further opportunity to connect people with the decision-making
process rather than attempting to encompass the aspirations of
their diverse electorate," said a report on the poll from the
Yayasan HAK, a rights and democracy organization.

Some 91 percent of voters took part on Thursday in the
territory's first free election, for an 88-member constituent
assembly. It will draft a constitution and become the national
parliament by early December in preparation for independence by
mid-2002.