Xanana to run for president

Xanana to run for president

EAST TIMOR: Independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, a potent symbol of East Timor's resistance during decades of Indonesian rule, officially declared himself a candidate on Saturday in the new nation's first presidential election.

"I continue to believe that I am not the ideal person for this job, but I will do the best job that I can," Gusmao said at news conference in the capital, Dili.

The long-expected announcement came just hours before the deadline for entering the presidential race. Gusmao had previously indicated his intention to run for president.

Gusmao's only opponent will be Fransisco Xavier do Amaral, who was appointed East Timor's first president in 1975, after the pullout of the Portuguese colonial government. He served for only nine days before Indonesian forces invaded on Dec. 7, 1975. -- AP