Joanna Jolly, Aileu – On a soccer field in East Timor's central mountains, thousands came to hear Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao make his campaign pitch.

Soon to become the world's newest country, East Timor is holding its first presidential election April 14, and the former guerrilla leader is the overwhelming favorite.

Gusmao joked with the crowd a bit, then he got down to the business of politics, putting himself up as their watchdog against governmental abuses. "If you vote for me, I promise to carry whatever burden you put on my shoulder," he told the cheering crowd in Aileu, 30 miles south of the capital, Dili.

The charismatic Gusmao is virtually assured victory. The only other candidate, veteran political leader Francisco Xavier do Amaral, has run a low-key campaign and isn't expected to pose much of a challenge.

Gusmao, a key leader in East Timor's long struggle to break away from Indonesia, is seen as a man of the people. "The whole world is impressed by your leadership," said Marcus da Costa, a youth leader in the crowd at Aileu. "We want you to continue."

But da Costa and others voiced their anxieties that the presidency might change Gusmao. "We are afraid that you will surround yourself with security and we won't be able to reach you," da Costa said.

Gusmao tried to reassure the crowd, telling them if he wins he will devote his five-year term to being the people's "eyes, ears and mouth".

As the election campaign winds down, there have been reports of tensions between Gusmao and his former political party, Fretilin, which controls the legislature elected last August.

Gusmao has made veiled attacks on the party, claiming that government officials he didn't identify are leading lavish lifestyles while many East Timorese go without basic health care and education.

Still, most observers believe the two camps will be able to work together. "We are optimistic and fully confident that East Timorese leaders will show the same maturity and confidence as they have done throughout this process," said Colin Stewart, the UN political affairs chief.

Now under UN administration, East Timor is scheduled to become formally independent May 20.

The East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in a UN-organized referendum in August 1999 to end 24 years of Indonesian military occupation following 350 years of Portuguese colonial rule.

The plebiscite was followed by a campaign of killing, burning and pillage by Indonesian troops and their militia supporters, but international peacekeepers intervened a month later to restore order.

The biggest challenge facing the country of 650,000 people is setting up its political and legal infrastructure. Last August, voters elected an 88-member assembly to draft a constitution, which was officially approved last month.

The country also must find a way to build up its struggling economy. Despite receiving millions of dollars in aid, nearly half the territory's people live in poverty.