Independence fighter and former president Xanana Gusmao of East Timor and his opposition party have won the most votes in the island nation’s parliamentary election, but fell short of the majority needed to form a government, official results showed on Tuesday.
The election, which was held on Sunday, had been billed as a battle for premiership between Gusmao and Mari Alkatiri, who is also a resistance-era figure. A total of 17 parties contested the election.
Gusmao’s National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) won 42 percent of the votes with all votes counted, while Alkatiri’s Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) had 25 percent, the electoral commission stated….