Beam Me Up

E Timor poll count increasingly 'illogical'
The confusion surrounding the first round of voting in East Timor's presidential election has mounted after the Election Commission said a district with 100,000 eligible voters had produced three times as many votes.
Martinho Gusmao, spokesman for the National Election Commission, could not explain the discrepancy, which emerged amid growing questions about East Timor's first presidential poll since independence in 2002.
"It registered a little more than 100,000 but the result is more than 300,000," he said of Bacau, East Timor's second town.
"The commissioners will discuss it together in order to find out how this illogical situation happened in Bacau."
The surplus 200,000 would represent a huge proportion of the total vote because East Timor has just 520,000 eligible voters.

Mr. Spock was unavailable for comment…..

My Election Day

Didn’t that go well? What a great day.
It’s been much better described than I ever could have here, here and here.
But I’m going to add my bit anyway.
Up yesterday at 0500 to be on the roof of the Hotel Timor at 0600 for live 2-way with the studio in Sydney. That was done and dusted by 0615. Then off to Aria Branca to get the pictures of JRH voting. I think at one stage there were more press there than voters. It was a very nice typically friendly East Timorese atmosphere. People had dressed up to come and vote, the officials were still trying to open the ink bottles at 0715 and JRH turned up a bit late. Didn’t matter though, because the polling station didn’t open on time anyway. JRH was very democratic and got in the queue with the rest of the plebs. During which time he was interviewed by every press person there and few interested observers too. Once there were no more press to be interviewed by, the PM was ushered to the front where he duly voted. He didn’t let on who he was voting for though. But he did say that he had a slightly upset stomach from something he had eaten the night before. I’ll try and find out where that was and make a note to avoid the place.
So, Ramos done, inky finger videoed, photographed, described in detail and licked we headed off to Farol to get ‘Lu’olo’ done. Much bigger crowds here, which was to be expected. Very nice pictures too, lots of long shadow’s, kretek smoke rising in the slanted morning light, lots of old people with interesting faces (great TV) and the man himself arriving to vote. And we got a photo-op bonus. As well as the man we got his wife (future first lady?) and Dr. Mari Alkatiri. A quick photo-op at the gate and the great men were taken immediately to the front. No queueing for them. Bit of a press scrum at the door to the polling room, lots of pushing, shoving and swearing but the job got done, more inky finger pics and off we went. The time was now around 0845 and I still hadn’t had one coffee having woke up with only two ciggies and had to bludge LA’s all morning.
So, Hotel Timor it was then, for 4 cups of one of the best Espressos in Dili, real cigarettes and pretend sausage rolls. After being victualled we went to the polling station on Comoro road opposite the Timor Lodge. Some nice pictures but very samey as the previous ones, and to be honest, we thought that if there was going to be any trouble in Dili it may have been between the people staying at the airport IDP camp, walking to the polls, and the scrotes that have been stoning them for the past 10 months. God, and who ever said TV news is cynical?
Then it was a drive to Metinaro. There were two reasons we went there. One was that it would be good to have a location other than Dili to report on (and Los Palos being a bit logistically not an option if you only have 2 hours) and also because I had received an SMS that there may have been some trouble out there. A third reason for me was the absolutely fantastic music CD I had made the previous night. A reason not shared by the other occupants of the car. I think they were too old to appreciate my music. Nothing wrong with a bit of Leonard Cohen and Eric Burdon on a nice drive.
Metinaro was great. Very peaceful, loads of “Bon Dia’s” and “Hello Misters” and everyone smiling and dressed up. After that it was back to Dili, pick up a tape on the way and transmist all the stuff we had filmed back to Sydney via the roof of the Hotel Timor. A chance for more Espressos, fags and general gossiping.
The afternoon was basically spent mooning around a bit, waiting till 1600 for the polls to close and trying to second guess the election result. Back down to the Comoro road polling at 1600 to film the close. I loved it. So Timor Leste. People still voted at 1615, a couple of election monitors looking on, then all the signatures of the election officials were taken to say they witnessed the opening and closing of the day and then the seals on the boxes cut, ballots strewn over 4 tables and the counting started. Just the final pictures we were looking for. A quick drive to Hotel Timor, the cameraman editing in the final pics on the back seat, reminded me of old times in other places. Quite a buzz. Pictures sent, day over.
Now I just want to say, hopefully without sounding too patronizing, that I was SO proud of my adopted country yesterday. From what I witnessed, and I know it was only a small proportion, the election day went off in a spirit that on the whole I think truly reflects the Timorese. Most people here don’t want the gang fights we have had in the recent past, they don’t want the stand-over crap when they own a small food stall, they don’t want their army and their police force fighting each other. The just want to have a decent life.
OK, liberal, hairy-armed, tree-hugging pinko crap over with.
Anyway, that was my election day. I hope yours was as peaceful, fun and good-natured as mine………

Long Hot Days

It’s been a very busy past few days and it’s still only Thursday! My journalist colleagues arrived on Monday 2nd from Darwin and we have been moving about a lot since then.
On Tuesday we went to Bacau to cover the Ramos Horta rally there. We decided to get there before JRH instead of travelling in his convoy and check out the place first. When we arrived there was a Fretilin rally happening in a basketball court right next to the place where the JRH rally was going to be held. “oh oh” we thought, “possible conflict here”. There were quite a large number of PNTL and Pakistani police around, decked out in riot gear, tear gas guns, shields and the full monty. The Fretilin party seemed very good humoured and the people of Bacau were carrying on as normal all around it. Late in the afternoon, around 3pm, the JRH convoy arrived. There was absolutely NO violence at all, nothing except a few good-natured insults and rival chanting. The police were excellent, keeping the rival supporters apart but with no heavy-handedness.
JRH received a hero’s welcome, with people forming a seat with their arms to carry him into the rally arena. After that it was a normal election rally. Speech’s, music and a very hot sun. We got home from Bacau pretty late and just crashed.
Next day, Wednesday 4th (and Mrs. Sod’s birthday) was a bit different. Most of the candidates were holding their closing rallies in Dili so it was a very busy day. We had been informed by the Fretilin media office that ‘Lu’olo’ would be holding his rally at the main stadium at 10am. When we arrived there were CNRT and JRH posters all over the place so we had a re-think. It turned out Lu’olo was holding his rally at the motorbike track in Comoro so headed over there. On the way, just where the Banana Road and the UN water point road (my god, these landmarks are surreal) meet were some ‘La Sama’ supporters. Not many, about 50 young boys, very calm and friendly and obviously not looking for trouble. There were many many many Fretilin trucks going past, full up with young boys, most painted in the party colours and having a good ole time. Well, some of the Fretilin boys decided they didn’t much like the look of the ‘La Sama’ boys so they jumped out of a couple of the trucks and started slinging rocks at the other chaps. The other chaps sensibly decided to run away. The Fretilin boys vented their frustration on a couple of goats who were in the wrong place at the wrong time by rocking them instead. They also threw some rocks at a few abandoned houses and one burnt-out car. All very low-key. The GNR quickly arrived on the scene and order was restored. No heads being cracked this time.
The Fretilin rally itself was pretty good. A great band, good atmosphere and lots of singing and dancing. After a couple of hours the man himself ‘Lu’olo’ arrived with one of his children, and Dr. Mari Alkatiri. The crowd went wild! Once everyone had calmed down a bit the Fretilin party song was sung by EVERYBODY! It was very moving, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This thing went as these things go, lots of speeches, promises etc etc. and then we left.
So, we went into town for the JRH rally and the ‘La’Sama’ rally. Again, both very jolly affairs, lots of singing, dancing and boys with painted faces. But I still think Fretilin had the best band. A very small amount of violence marred these events, some of which you may have seen in the Australian media. Thank God I am working with a correspondent who doesn’t talk these things up and make them into something they weren’t. The only two incidents I personally witnessed was a total of about 20 rocks thrown between guys on some Fretilin trucks and some guys on ‘La’Sama’ trucks. 20 rocks! At least 8,000 people. It wasn’t much in the general scheme of things. I’ve seen worse just driving to Tiger fuels to buy a Mrs. Mac’s pie.
The second incident was outside the WB building which ‘Squatter’ describes in his blog. This basically was a 1 minute incident which was very small. Some Fretilin trucks were driving by the university, unfortunately I was with them, when a group of boys came out of the university and pelted the Fretilin guys with rocks. My car and my correspondent both got hit. No major damage to either, and the car isn’t insured.
A Portugues officer fired a couple of tear gas rounds and that was it. Incident over.
So, we hung around for a few more hours, driving around, checking things out. Overall I would say the day went very well. I’ve read of around 30 minor injuries on the day, with the emphasis on minor. I would have said more people were hurt in traffic accidents yesterday than in any violence. We saw four accidents.
This morning, Wednesday, up early for a one-on-one breakfast interview with PM Jose Ramos Horta. He was his usual urbane self, greeting us nicely, putting us at our ease and generally being a nice chap. You can see/read his interview on the Australian CH7 web-site. Off the record, he had to be reminded that his last foreign trip was NOT to see the Pope, but to see Jennifer Lopez. How could he have forgotten that?
Today is very quiet in Dili, I’ve been driving around most of the day and I can honestly say it’s deader than a wet weekend in Wigan. Which is a GOOD thing.
Now we’ve got the long Easter weekend coming up with polling on Monday. I really hope that people are going to be sensible and not mar the past two weeks with any mindless violence, but to be honest, I think if ‘Lu’olo’ is beaten on Monday we will have quite a few incidents. Ramos Horta himself thinks it will be a run-off between him and ‘Lu’olo’ with a further tie-break election in May. Actually, I agree with him. I also think that if there is a tie-break, JRH will win it. We shall see.

Election News

Sydney Morning Herald, March 30th 2007

At least 20 injured in E Timor clashes
At least 20 people were injured, two of them police officers, as gangs from rival political parties scuffled and threw rocks in East Timor, authorities said on Friday.
The violence broke on Thursday night in Viqueque district, about 220 kilometres from Dili, and is believed to be the first directly related to next month's East Timorese presidential elections.
At least 20 people were injured, two of them police officers, said Geraldo da Silva, of the emergency unit in Viqueque hospital.
The unrest broke out following a campaign rally by presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta, said local police chief Gaspa da Costa.
His supporters brawled with youths aligned with Fretilin, the left-leaning political party of ousted Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, he said, though it was not clear what triggered the dispute.
East Timor, which became Asia's newest nation in 2002, descended into chaos one year ago after Alkatiri dismissed 600 soldiers, a move that split the armed forces into factions and later spilled over into gang warfare.
At least 37 people were killed and 150,000 others fled their homes.
The deployment of thousands of international troops helped curb the worst of the violence, and while there have been isolated incidents since then, Thursday's was the first since campaigning for April 9 presidential elections started last week.
The UN police force in the country said in a statement that Ramos Horta supporters were attacked, but did not say by whom. Fretilin spokesman Filomeno Aleixo said the party did not instigate the violence, and denied involvement.
"Whoever was involved in this incident should be brought to justice," he told The Associated Press.
East Timor voted to break free from 24 years of Indonesian rule in 1999.
The country was administered by the United Nations, and until last year's crisis, which led to the overthrow of the government, had been considered a major success in nation-building.

......

Leassons Learned? Or Not?

First, go here: UN cheated in Timor vote, inquiry told.

Then read the following:

UNMIT Welcomes the Signing of the Code of Conduct for the 2007 Presidential ElectionsDili, March 16, 2007 - At a ceremony in Dili this afternoon, the head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) said the signing of a Code of Conduct for the April 9 election will help to ensure that the elections are free, fair, transparent and peaceful.The Code of Conduct has been drafted by the national body responsible for running the elections, the Technical Secretariat for the Administration of Elections (STAE) and approved by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).The Code was signed by all eight presidential candidates in Dili.Special Representative to the Secretary General for Timor Leste Atul Khare signed the Code as a witness, along with the representatives of Organs of Sovereignty, the church and civil society.Mr Khare noted the importance of the Code of Conduct as a whole, as a clear commitment of all candidates to free and fair elections. He highlighted in particular the commitment by all candidates, their representatives and supporters to accept the results, or to challenge them only in competent courts; and to campaign positively through programmes of action not personal criticism of other candidates. He also drew attention to those clauses which encourage respect for the rights of other candidates and request candidates to refrain from exercising any illegitimate influence on voters. “Today’s signing signifies a formal acknowledgement of the guiding principles and rules that will help to ensure that the 2007 Presidential elections are free, fair, transparent and peaceful,” Mr Khare said.UNMIT is mandated through Security Council Resolution 1704 to “support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process, including through technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification or other means.”
For further information please contact UNMIT spokesperson Allison Cooper on +670 7230453

Then go here: Electoral Certification Team Report.

Then make up your own mind..............

Ho Hum....

East Timorese political leaders call for restraint
By Karon Snowdon
There are renewed fears that violence will disrupt East Timor's elections.
Several attacks on individuals have political leaders calling for restraint.
Day five of East Timor's presidential election campaign brought reports of sporadic violence in what appears to be an outbreak of tensions between rival Fretilin party factions.
Victor da Costa, the leader of a breakaway reform faction, was punched by supporters of the main Fretilin party while campaigning for independent presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta.
In a separate incident, a Fretilin rally was disrupted by more than 20 stone-throwing men associated with the militia-style rebel Rai Los, whose accusations against former prime minister and Fretilin secretary-general Mari Alkitiri led to Dr Alkitiri's resignation last year.

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