2002 East Timorese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in East Timor for the first time on 14 April 2002 under UN administration.[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]

2002 East Timorese presidential election
14 April 2002
 
Candidate Xanana Gusmão Francisco Xavier do Amaral
Party Independent ASDT
Popular vote 301,634 63,146
Percentage 82.69% 17.31%
President before election

Sérgio Vieira de Mello
(As East Timor UN Transitional Administrator)
Independent

 Elected President

Xanana Gusmão
Independent

Politics of East Timor
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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.

Results
CandidatePartyVotes%
Xanana GusmãoIndependent301,63482.69
Francisco Xavier do AmaralTimorese Social Democratic Association63,14617.31
Total364,780100.00
Valid votes364,78096.36
Invalid/blank votes13,7683.64
Total votes378,548100.00
Registered voters/turnout446,25684.83
Source: IFES

References
  1. "UN sets East Timor election date". BBC News. 17 January 2002. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  2. "East Timor has elected its first president, paving the way for it to become the world's newest country on 20 May". BBC News. 19 April 2002. Retrieved 1 July 2007.


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