30 August 2001 -- Under a calm and peaceful atmosphere, hundreds of thousands of East Timorese headed to the polls on Thursday to vote in the territory's first democratic elections, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), said today.
"30 August 2001 will be remembered in the history of East Timor as a demonstration of the capacity of the East Timorese people to organize themselves, to participate, and to confront their differences in the context of a multiparty democracy," Carlos Valenzuela, UNTAET's Chief Electoral Officer, said tonight after voting at all but a handful of polling stations had ended.
An estimated 93 percent of those on the voters roll had voted. "We believe the people of East Timor can go to sleep satisfied; they have done their civic duty, and tomorrow we will start the counting process," Mr. Valenzuela said.
Thousands of voters lined up in the dark this morning waiting for polling stations to open while others had slept outside polling stations or had traversed long and difficult terrain to reach them.
Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta cast his vote in the capital, Dili, early this morning and then accompanied UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello to Bobonaro, Covalima and Ainaro Districts to visit polling stations. East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmão voted in his home district of Manatuto and then travelled with Mr. Vieira de Mello's deputy, Dennis McNamara, to Viqueque and Baucau Districts.
This afternoon Mr. Vieira de Mello visited a polling centre in the capital at which he commended the East Timorese for the dignity and maturity they have exhibited throughout the electoral process. In a radio broadcast aired throughout the day, the UNTAET chief encouraged voters to head to the polls and to respect the elections eventual outcome.
"When the results of today's election are announced, some people will feel happy because they believe that they may have won, while others may feel disappointed because they did not manage as well," Mr. Vieira de Mello said. "This is normal in any democratic election. But remember…it is the people of East Timor, and not political parties, that will be the winners of today's elections."
After the close of polling, all ballot boxes were taken unopened from the polling centres to counting centres in each district capital, where they will be stored securely overnight. The process of counting the ballots will begin on Friday, and final certified results will be handed over to Mr. Vieira de Mello on 10 September.
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