East Timorese presidential election, 2002

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East Timorese presidential election, 2002

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14 April 2002 2007  

  Xanana 2011.jpg Francisco Xavier do Amaral.jpg
Candidate Xanana Gusmão Francisco Xavier do Amaral
Party Independent ASDT
Popular vote301,634 63,146
Percentage82.69% 17.31%

Elected President

Xanana Gusmão
Independent

Coat of arms of East Timor.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Timor-Leste
Constitution

The first Presidential election was held in East Timor on 14 April 2002. [1] As expected, the former president of the East Timorese resistance movement, Conselho Nacional da Resistencia Timorense, Xanana Gusmão, running as an independent candidate but with the unofficial support of small opposition parties like the Democratic Party, won a large majority. [2]

East Timor Country in Maritime Southeast Asia

East Timor or Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Maritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is about 15,410 km2.

Xanana Gusmão former President and Prime Minister of East Timor

Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, GColIH, GCL, GCMG is an East Timorese politician. A former militant, he was the first President of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007. He then became the fourth Prime Minister of East Timor, serving from 8 August 2007 to 16 February 2015. He has been Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment since February 2015.

Gusmão only had one challenger, former FRETILIN president Francisco Xavier do Amaral, who had been sworn in as president when East Timor declared independence on 28 November 1975, though his term was short-lived as Indonesia invaded on 5 December. Do Amaral, now head of a new party, the ASDT, had admitted that he fully expected to lose to Gusmão, but felt that running was symbolically important, demonstrating the strength of East Timor's democracy by ensuring that Gusmão had competition in the race.

Francisco Xavier do Amaral East Timorese politician

Francisco Xavier do Amaral was an East Timorese politician. A founder of the Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente (Fretilin), Amaral was sworn in as the first President of East Timor when the country, then a Portuguese colony, made a unilateral declaration of independence on 28 November 1975. He was a member of the National Parliament for the Timorese Social Democratic Association from 2001 until his death. Amaral was also known as "Abo (Grandfather) Xavier," a term of endearment, by East Timorese.

Results

e    d  Summary of the 14 April 2002 East Timor presidential election results
Candidates - partiesVotes%
Xanana Gusmão 301,63482.69
Francisco Xavier do Amaral 63,14617.31
Total (turnout 86%)364,780100.00
Source: ARD-Text

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References