East Timor elections defining moment in quest for statehood, UN mission chief says

Tomorrow's first-ever democratic elections in East Timor will be a defining moment in the territory's long and often painful quest for self-determination, which will culminate in statehood sometime next year, the head of the United Nations transitional administration said today.

In an op-ed article published in the International Herald Tribune, Sergio Vieira de Mello, chief of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), says that following the violence surrounding the 1999 popular consultation, the world body and the Timorese together have established a degree of peace and security in the territory not seen in decades, developing institutions and preparing people for an administration that will be representative, transparent and efficient.

"The process has not been flawless, in large part because it has never before been attempted," Mr. Vieira de Mello writes. "There is no instruction manual on how to build a country."

"East Timor is on the home stretch to nationhood," he stresses, noting that after the election, there would be a significant transfer of authority from UNTAET to the East Timorese leadership, most notably the formation of an all-Timorese government based on the voting results. This will ease the transition from an administration with a significant international component to one that is almost entirely East Timorese.

Looking ahead, Mr. Vieira de Mello says it would be "dangerously short-sighted to equate the imminent democratic political transition with the establishment of an effective public administration. UNTAET will not be able to complete the tasks it was set by the UN Security Council in the next few months."

In view of mistakes made elsewhere in the world, he says, a consensus has emerged that the UN and the international community must stay the course in East Timor or risk undermining the progress of the past two years. "Plans are being drawn up for the United Nations to remain on the ground in East Timor after independence, to continue to assist the new government where necessary. The aim is to ensure that the country has sound administration and a self-sustaining economy."

Meanwhile in East Timor today, Mr. Vieira de Mello and two prominent East Timorese leaders visited districts throughout the territory to encourage people to exercise their right to vote for the party of their choice and to respect the outcome of the process.

The UNTAET chief and the Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Ramos-Horta, visited Aileu and Manufahi Districts, while East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmão and Mr. Vieira de Mello's deputy, Dennis McNamara, visited Bobonaro and Oecussi Districts.

Mr. Gusmão, whom many expect to be elected the new nation's first president, received a rapturous welcome in both districts, where residents hoisted him onto their shoulders. He encouraged those present to respect the outcome of the vote and to remember that in a democracy a government was responsible to the electorate.

Thursday's elections will create an 88-member Constituent Assembly that will have 90 days to write and adopt a constitution for an independent and democratic East Timor.

Voting will begin at 7 a.m. at 248 polling centres and will continue until 4 p.m. under the supervision of more than 1,000 national and international election observers. Approximately 425,000 East Timorese are eligible to vote in the election.