By Luke Hunt
Former freedom fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos is the new president of Timor-Leste after winning a peaceful run-off election against Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo” of the opposition Fretilin party. His victory appears promising for stability within the often strife-torn country.
Initial results show that Vasconcelos – also known as Taur Matan Ruak – has won more than 60 percent of the vote for the position, which is largely ceremonial but not without influence in a country plagued by poverty and animosities stemming back to East Timor’s fight for independence from Indonesia.
Ruak is expected to unify opposing factions and in his own words restore some lost dignity among the veterans, widows and their families whose anger at being sidelined by previous governments had led to an astonishing level of violence and bloodshed given Timor-Leste’s short history.
Read the full story at The Diplomat