Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The first indication there would be problems with East Timor's presidential election came days before when Martinho Gusmao, a key member of the organising commission, publicly endorsed the rising star of the country's politics, Fernado "Lasama" de Araujo.
Father Gusmao, an influential Catholic priest, shrugged off cries of foul play, saying he could anoint whoever he likes.
High in East Timor's coffee-growing mountains Alfredo Reinado issued his own public endorsement of 43 year-old Mr de Araujo, humiliating once again Australian combat troops who have been hunting him for weeks after botching an attack on his base that left five men dead.
Yesterday, Reinado, a cult-hero figure for many Timorese, told The Herald through an interpreter who rang him on his mobile telephone he was preparing a statement on how he rated the election. Apparently, like many other Timorese, he is not happy.
The election of a new president to replace independence hero Xanana Gusmao is an important test for the young nation after last year's violent upheaval that left scores dead and forced more than 150,000 people from their homes.
But despite the eagerness of more than half of the country's one million people to have a say in the resolution of the country's problems all eight candidates have raised serious allegations about the conduct of the election.
The High Court in Dili will be flooded with complaints next week, almost certainly forcing a delay in announcement of the official result.
Despite the problems which included intimidation and count irregularities, voters showed they want to punish somebody over last year's violence. Leaders of the ruling Fretilin party were taken aback on Monday evening when they started to receive reports from 500 polling booths around the country.
Their candidate Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres was polling poorly in many areas, including traditional party strongholds in the country's eastern towns and villages.
Only hours earlier Mari Alkatiri, the party's powerful secretary-general, had refused to even discuss the possibility that Mr Guterres would not win a clear majority, preventing a run off vote in a second round in one month.
"We never lose. We will win again," he told reporters as he voted alongside Mr Guterres at a polling centre in a Dili beachside suburb where they both live. But Mr Alkatiri did not hear shouts from people lining up to vote. "Horta best, Horta best," they called.
Mr Ramos Horta received 80,851 votes, according to the unofficial count, a remarkable effort considering he had no party to run his campaign. This was only 23,000 votes behind Mr Guterres, who had the backing of the biggest political machine.
What is shaping as a bitterly fought run off vote between the two men will be held on May 8. Mr Ramos Horta relied mainly on his high profile to give him more votes than Mr de Araujo, who heads the reformist youth-based Democratic Party In interviews Mr Ramos Horta, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel peace prize, portrayed Fretilin as arrogant and out of touch with Timorese, one third of whom often do not have enough to eat. He said Mr Guterres was a nice enough man run by Mr Alkatiri, whose image was damaged last year when he was forced from the prime ministership over allegations he knew about the arming of a civilian hit squad.
A former guerrilla fighter, Mr Guterres can claim, like many other Timorese, to be a hero of the independence struggle.
But he is not well known. He didn't show up at a press conference on Thursday when Mr Alkatiri gave Fretilin's version of what happened. For months Mr Ramos Horta worked hard to portray himself as a man for the poor, making frequent trips to remote villages and Dili's refugee camps where tens of thousands of people are still languishing as monsoon downpours turn them into quagmires.
When Fretilin's leaders reassess their tactics, after recovering from the shock of Monday's vote, they may realise that not only will they struggle to win the run-off because all the non-Fretilin candidates will back Mr Ramos Horta, they face a tough battle to stay in power by winning the parliamentary elections.
Maybe it is time to elect a new face to lead the party, somebody like former NSW public servant Estanislau da Silva, who has been Mr Ramos Horta's deputy for 10 months.
Mr Alkatiri insists he will continue to lead the party into the parliamentary elections after being cleared of the hit squad allegations even though he appears to be unpopular.
Xanana Gusmao, the outgoing president who plans to lead his own party into power, is already telling voters they must shun Fretilin because it has failed to significantly improve their lives. Mr Gusmao, who remained distant and aloof during last year's crisis, will vacant the presidency on May 20.
The parliamentary elections are likely to see even more insults flying than the presidential vote. Mr Gusmao and Mr Alkatiri have been political enemies for decades.
Mr Ramos Horta plans to swing his support behind Mr Gusmao's campaign no matter what the outcome of the presidential run-off. The close friends and longtime political allies plan on Monday to announce a deal to compensate 700 soldiers whose sacking sparked last year's violence.