Jose Ramos Horta Led in Timor Leste Election

VIVA – Jose Ramos Horta appeared at the top position in the list of votes for the second round, of the presidential election of Timor Leste on Wednesday, April, 21th 2022. He led the vote count which had reached three quarters of the vote.

East Timorese went to the polls on Tuesday to choose between Ramos Horta and the former guerrilla president of Timor-Leste, Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres.

With 75 percent counted, Ramos Horta led with 62.09 percent of the vote, while Lu Olo got 37.91 percent of the vote, according to election administration body data. East Timorese lining up to vote for president.

Ramos Horta, 72 years old is one of Timor-Leste's leading political figures and previously served as foreign minister, prime minister and president of the country of 1.3 million people from 2007-2012. He was one of two recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

In the first round of elections, he failed to secure a majority of the vote. An Australian academic calculated that Ramos Horta needed only an additional 30,000 votes to win the second round on Tuesday.

After Ramos Horta gave his vote in Capital Dili, he said “Very confident” will win the election but would wait for the final result. After years of political tension between the major parties, this election is widely seen as essential to Timor-Leste's stability.

Ramos-Horta has indicated that he could use his powers to dissolve parliament and advance the election schedule for next year. East Timor's first president, Xanana Gusmao, supported Ramos-Horta in the presidential election and called the current government "illegitimate according to the constitution".

Incumbent candidate Lu Olo has refused to take the oath of seven ministers from Gusmao's political parties, arguing they face legal investigations, including corruption charges. The next president will be sworn in on May 20, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Timor Leste's recognition as an independent country by the United Nations.