(12 Apr 2007)
1. Wide of news conference
2. Cutaway of camera operator
3. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin MP and former Prime Minister:
"For us this was also against our expectations, yes, but we want to contribute to the stabilisation of the nation and we're not going to make wild complaints because of that reason."
4. Cutaway of media
5. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin MP and former Prime Minister:
"Some people think that the seven candidates can get together and gang up against one. Those at the top (referring to the candidates) yes, they can get together but not the voters"
6. Cutaway of photographer
7. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin MP and former Prime Minister:
No, we never broke the contact between the two of us. Yesterday we spoke on the phone three times. The goal is to maintain calm so that there are not any convulsions after the announcement of the result of the vote. And we are here for that, nothing else."
8. Fretilin campaign poster
9. East Timor flags flying
10. Wide of Fretilin headquarters with poster of Presidential Candidate Francisco "Luolo" Guterres outside
STORYLINE:
The former Prime Minister of East Timor said on Thursday that the official count of votes in the country's presidential elections was wrong, despite his party being awarded the highest percentage of votes.
Mari Alkatiri accused Election Commission Spokesman Father Martinho Gusmao of misrepresenting the vote in order to spark Fretilin supporters to make trouble.
He said that Fretilin poll watchers had a different total from the 28 per cent announced for Francisco "Luolo" Guterres.
With more than 70 percent of ballots counted on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, initially considered the favourite for the five-year post, was trailing Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres of the Fretilin party by 20,000 votes, the National Election Commission said.
A presidential runoff was certain as partial election results showed the two frontrunners had got less than 30 percent of the vote, far short of the 50 percent plus one needed to win outright.
Alkatiri said his party would not push forward with complaints as they were confident in their ability to win in the second round against acting Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta.
"Some people think that the seven candidates can get together and gang up against one," Alkatiri said when asked about reports that the six defeated candidates would throw their collective support to Ramos-Horta in order to stop Guterres.
He said that he had spoken to Ramos-Horta by phone in order to urge calm from all parties following the announcement of the results of the first round of voting.
"Yesterday we spoke on the phone three times. The goal is to maintain calm so that there are not any convulsions after the announcement of the result of the vote. And we are here for that, nothing else," he said.
There has been a low-key reaction to the results so far in Dili, and no reports of violence have come from other areas of the country.
Alkatiri praised the work of international security forces, but cited incidents of intimidation and said it showed that East Timor would need international security help in the years to come.
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