Former East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao gestures after voting during the general election in Dili, on May 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
Timor-Leste independence hero Xanana Gusmão's party was leading with two-thirds of votes counted in a parliamentary election, state media showed on Monday, heralding a possible return to power for the former rebel after nearly a decade in opposition.
Sunday's election, which will pave the way for the winning party or a coalition of parties to appoint the head of government, is a battle for the premiership between Gusmão and Mari Alkatiri, another resistance-era figure from the ruling party.
With nearly 70 percent of ballots counted, Gusmão's opposition party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), had about 40 percent of votes, according to election commission data as broadcast by state media Radio-Televisão Timor Leste.
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The ruling Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste, which leads a four-party coalition backing the incumbent prime minister José Maria Vasconcelos, or Taur Matan Ruak, had about 27 percent of votes.
Fifteen other parties were contesting the poll, though none had more than 10 percent of votes as of Monday.
Reuters could not independently verify the results.