Vote counting begins in East Timor presidential election

In East Timor, electoral officials have begun counting votes of the second round of the Asian country’s presidential election. Unofficial results could be available on Tuesday, while the final results are expected next week. According to the National Election Commission, with 75 percent of the ballots tallied in a quick count, early numbers suggest former military commander Taur Matan Ruak was ahead. Francisco Guterres, a 57-year-old former guerrilla commander representing the opposition Fretilin party, had 39% of the preliminary count. East Timor is a half island country with a population of 1.1 million people. According to the World Bank, East Timor has the highest percentage of impoverished people in Asia. In 1999, East Timor voted in a referendum to end 24 years of Indonesian rule, after a two-decade rebellion against Jakarta. A report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor said there were at least 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period from 1974 to 1999. However, Amnesty International says that 200,000 East Timorese were killed in the conflict. East Timor officially gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.