DILI (TOP) – The United States government led by President Joe Biden has congratulated President-elect José Manuel Ramos-Horta on the second round of the presidential election in Timor-Leste.
“We congratulate President-elect José Ramos-Horta on his election as Timor-Leste’s next president and look forward to working with President-elect Ramos-Horta to strengthen the enduring partnership between the United States and Timor-Leste. Rooted in shared values and interests, our partnership has delivered opportunities to improve the livelihoods of the Timorese people through economic development, public health, security cooperation, and educational exchanges and training,” Ned Price, Department Spokesperson said in a press statement.
Price added; “We commend Timorese authorities, including the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration and the National Elections Commission, for administering a free, fair, and transparent election and the hundreds of thousands of Timorese voters who cast their ballots peacefully”.
He said, Timor-Leste’s election serves as an inspiration for democracy in Southeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world. This achievement represents another milestone in Timor-Leste’s tremendous work to build and strengthen its robust, vibrant democracy over its nearly 20-year history as an independent nation.
The first round of presidential elections which took place on March 19, Horta was also declared the winner but did not reach 50% to become the absolute winner. As a result, the second round of elections took place, and in this second round, Horta succeeded in defeating the incumbent president Lú Olo who is also the president of the FRETILIN party since the 2000s until now.
Horta secured 397,145 votes, or 62.09 percent, against incumbent Francisco Guterres Lú Olo 242,440, or 37.91 percent, the secretariat's website showed after all ballots were counted.
