Timor Leste votes to break political impasse in parliament

DIlI: Thousands lined up to cast votes in a general election, in a bid to end months of political deadlock in the tiny South-East Asian nation’s parliament.

This month’s election campaign has been marred by sporadic violence, though Timor Leste has been largely peaceful in recent years following recurrent bouts of political instability that it suffered after independence from Indonesia in 2002.

The 2017 parliamentary election produced no clear winner, with the Fretilin party of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri winning just 0.2% more votes than the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, the party of independence hero Xanana Gusmao.

Timor Leste President Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres dissolved parliament earlier this year and called for fresh elections, the fifth parliamentary election since independence from Indonesia in 2002.

Former president Gusmao cast his vote in the capital Dili as polls opened at 7am.

“I would say that (this election) will mean the end of this deadlock,” he told reporters. “We will only accept the result if we see that there are no irregularities, no electoral fraud.”

Asia’s youngest democracy has struggled to alleviate poverty, stamp out corruption and develop its rich oil and gas resources.

The energy sector accounted for around 60% of GDP in 2014 and more than 90% of government revenue.