DILI (TOP) – Nobel Peace Prize winner José Manuel Ramos-Horta feels confident that he will win the presidential election in the second round.
“In democracy we can say I believe to win, but not guarantee to win. In democracy we can say that there are mysterious results,” Ramos-Horta told reporters after voting at the Metiaut voting center in Dili, Tuesday 19 April 2022.
Timor-Leste – one of Southeast Asia’s few vibrant democracies – held the first round of its presidential election on Saturday 19 March. José Ramos-Horta led the pack with 46 per cent, while incumbent president Francisco “Lú-Olo” Guterres took second with 22 per cent.
The 72-year-old was a key figure in East Timor's struggle for independence, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 along with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo, SDB.
The president-elect will take office on 20 May 2022, the day Timor-Leste celebrates the 20th anniversary of its independence from Indonesia.
Horta's candidacy was announced at a meeting convened by the National Congress for Timor-Leste Reconstruction (CNRT), a political party led by the charismatic former president Xanana Gusmao.
"I am carrying out what was entrusted to me by the CNRT party and the people of Timor Leste to run in the 2022-2027 presidential election," Horta said after the congress.
Gusmao added: "Let's us support Horta to the presidential palace."
Ramos-Horta served as Southeast Asia's youngest country president from 2007 to 2012 and as prime minister from 2006 to 2007.
Meanwhile, the opponent of the presidential candidate from the FRETILIN party Francisco Guterres Lú Olo also expressed confidence in winning this election, but according to him, the election result will determine.
“I'm sure to win. The election results will be decisive,” Lú Olo said.
Timor-Leste is a predominantly Catholic country, a former Portuguese colony, declaring independence in 2002 after a 24-year occupation by neighboring Indonesia.
