Vote counting began in East Timor yesterday after a peaceful presidential election which saw long queues at polling stations and raised hopes for an end to the cycle of violence that has gripped the nation.
More than half the population of about 1 million was registered to vote in the election to replace the charismatic former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao, amid tight security and concerns over whether the result will be credible.
"I am very happy to give support to our nation, which is already broken," said Armindo Moreira, one of about 30 people waiting to vote at a primary school in the capital, Dili.
It was the first poll since the nation declared independence in 2002 after a bloody separation three years earlier from Indonesia.
The vote follows a turbulent year in East Timor. Foreign peacekeepers arrived in May to quell violence that left at least 37 people dead and forced more than 150,000 people to flee their homes.
Election officials were forced to scramble 5,000 extra ballot papers to remote locations after 14 of the 504 polling stations ran out of ballots.
Two UN helicopters and one from the international peacekeeping force made four "rapid reaction support flights to meet ballot paper deficits," said the Timorese Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (STAE).
The government body described voting as "peaceful" and "successful." It said turn-out had been higher than expected.
Eight candidates were in the running to replace Gusmao, who is not seeking re-election as ceremonial head of the nation. If, as expected, no candidate gets more than 50 percent,a runoff will be held on May 9.
Jose Ramos-Horta, 57, the current prime minister, was seen as the leading contender, but observers said the contest was shaping up to be a three-way race.
He is up against former guerrilla and Fretilin party candidate Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, and an ex-Indonesian political prisoner, Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party.
As he voted shortly after the polls opened, Ramos-Horta told reporters that "by and large" the electoral process had been free and fair despite some incidents of intimidation by the ruling Fretilin party.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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