Paul Toohey – Jose Ramos Horta had his country on tenterhooks last night as he asked for another 24 hours to decide whether he would stay on as East Timor's President or pursue a job in Geneva as the UN Human Rights Commissioner.

It seems almost certain that Mr Ramos Horta will go. His heart was never in the presidency but that was compounded on February 11 when he was shot twice in the back, outside his own home, by rebels he had been trying to help.

As he recovered in Darwin, he remained deeply traumatised and revealed to The Australian that he was likely to throw in the towel some time after his return to the capital, Dili, in April. He said at the time: "I will address the parliament when I return and I will not promise the country that I will serve the full term."

When he touched down in Dili days later, he had probably made up his mind but the outpouring of love and the demand for his leadership was so strong that, while not disavowing what he had said, he chose instead to let the people cool down.

It appears that he, as a former foreign minister, has quietly used his diplomatic influence to move towards a departure.

Mr Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao met yesterday afternoon. Mr Ramos Horta emerged to thank Australia, East Timor's former colonial power Portugal, Brazil and the US for supporting his candidacy for the UN position. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is yet to officially endorse Mr Ramos Horta as his nominee, a selection which must then be confirmed by a vote of the body's General Assembly.

Mr Ramos Horta's candidacy has not happened in a vacuum. The advocacy would have required his full consent and may as likely have been at the highly connected President's own urging.

Speaking to the media, with Mr Gusmao at his side, he said the only thing that might stop him going was his concern that the "country will return to chaos" if he left the presidency. He said he had to think of his people.

Mr Gusmao said he would support any decision Mr Ramos Horta reached. "I apologise to everybody because I cannot make the announcement today," Mr Ramos Horta said. "I promise to make the announcement tomorrow at three o'clock."

Mr Ramos Horta no longer feels completely safe in his home town and wants out, saying he can no longer move about as freely as he once did. But he is under pressure, particularly from the country's two powerful bishops, to whom he feels beholden, to stay on.

Anywhere else in the world, an uncommitted president would be seen as a no-good president who had to go. East Timor is different.

With the once-adored freedom fighter Mr Gusmao now seen by many East Timorese as distant and lacking his former authority, Mr Ramos Horta has taken the role – a role he never wanted – as the people's president. He is seen as the only leader with the imprimatur to bring the country's disparate forces together.

But the problem with him staying is not with the citizens who love him. East Timor's political forces, who are already hounding for an early election, will argue that an indifferent president cannot hope to stabilise the country.

Vice-Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres, who met Mr Ramos Horta yesterday, said he had no idea that Mr Ramos Horta was close to the brink. "He only mentioned that he had planned to speak with UN Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon) around lunchtime," Mr Guterres said.

It is said Mr Ramos Horta's deputy, Fernando Lasama de Araujo, whom the President praised for filling in for him when he was in Darwin and suggested would make a better president than him, could again take on the acting presidency until the poll.

Mr Ramos Horta has said he never wanted to be President, and had only taken the job under pressure from Gusmao. "I was the only person he would accept," he told The Australian. "It was totally against my plan and my desire. My plan was to go abroad to study in France, really, a sabbatical – I have a contract to write a book."