Islam Times - Former guerilla fighter, defense chief of East Timor elected new president

Islam Times - Former guerilla fighter and Defense Chief of East Timor Jose Maria de Vasconcelos has been officially named the new president of the Far Eastern Pacific country.

Vasconcelos, also known as Taur Matan Ruak, has been named the president of East Timor by the Supreme Court of Appeals after the confirmation of the preliminary results of the April 16th run-off vote. According to officials, 73 percent of eligible voters participated in the election.

Final counting of the ballots cast in the mid-April elections showed that more than 61 percent of the ballots were cast in favor of Ruak, helping him to defeat his rival, former independence fighter Francisco Guterres from the opposition Fretilin party, and force him to the second place with only about 38.8 percent of the vote.

Ruak is expected to officially take office on May 20th after incumbent President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Joo-Zeh Ra-Moosh Or-ta, who lost the first round on May 17, leaves office.

In order to participate in the country’s 2012 presidential election, Ruak resigned from his post as the Defense Chief of the East Asian country in late 2011.

Previously, Ruak promised to introduce mandatory military service if he gets elected as the president of the country.

The peaceful election has sparked hopes of concerted efforts to tackle the gas rich country’s high unemployment rate, widespread poverty and lack of infrastructure.