East Timor votes for new president

More than 620,000 eligible to vote in second-round runoff poll to elect country's next head of state.

Citizens of East Timor are going to the polls to elect a new president in a run-off vote, as the country prepares to celebrate its first decade of independence.

Voters queued before polls to cast their ballots in a poll that sees Franciso Guterres "Lu Olo" take on Taur Matan Ruak, both heroes of the 24-year war against Indonesia for independence.

The winner of the contest will replace Nobel Prize-winning incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, who trailed in third place in the first round of voting, held on March 17.

While the role of the president is largely ceremonial, the post has enjoyed a high-profile under Ramos-Horta, and the elections are the first of a series of landmark events in the country of 1.1 million people.

In May, East Timor will celebrate 10 years of independence, which came after three years of administration by the United Nations.

On July 7, citizens will choose a new government in a general election.

Ameerah Haq, the UN secretary-general's special representative for East Timor, reportedly said last week that UN peacekeepers, stationed in the country since 1999, would pull out if both elections went off peacefully.

While the first round of voting in the presidential election was peaceful, violence was reported ahead of the second round, with the homes of two political supporters torched and a number of campaign vehicles attacked.

On Friday, about 100 people reportedly pelted stones at Ruak's campaign headquarters in Dili.

Alfonso de Jesus, a deputy police commander, said that despite the incidents, he expected the elections to go off smoothly.

Lu Olo, the most popular candidate in last months' poll with close to 29 per cent of the vote, is backed by several other first-round candidates.

The 57-year-old heads the opposition Fretilin party, which is synonymous with the East Timorese resistance, lost the presidency to Ramos-Horta in a run-off in 2007.

Ruak, 55, is the former commander of Fretilin's military wing.

He is running as an independent and standing for president for the first time, backed by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's powerful National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor party.

Ruak, who won about 26 per cent of the vote in the first round, has vowed to introduce mandatory military service if elected, and has been accused by the United Nations of involvement in illegal weapons transfers in 2006. At the time, rioting and factional fighting had left the country on the verge of civil war.

The voting age for Monday's polls is 17, and more than 620,000 are eligible to vote at 850 polling stations nationwide.

Polls remain open until 3:00pm local time (06:00 GMT). By law, provisional results must be announced 48 hours after polls close.

Dipetik dari - Al Jazeera English