East Timor votes for a president

East Timor votes in only its second presidential elections as a free country Saturday, a crucial test for the young democracy as UN forces prepare to leave the impoverished oil-dependent nation. The poll is the first in a series of key events in the chronically unstable country, still traumatised by Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation which ended with a vote for independence in 1999. In May, East Timor will celebrate 10 years as an independent nation, which came after three years of UN administration. The following month, voters will choose a new government in a general election. At the end of the year the half-island nation of 1.1 million people bids goodbye to UN forces stationed in the country since 1999. Constitutionally, the presidency is largely a ceremonial role, but its profile has been boosted by incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate who for decades has been the international face of East Timor. Ramos-Horta, who survived a 2008 assassination attempt, is the second post-independence president after Xanana Gusmao -- the former anti-Indonesia rebel leader who is now prime minister. Twelve candidates are running for the presidency but the race is expected to be a three-way contest between Ramos-Horta, the Fretilin party's Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres and former armed forces chief Taur Matan Ruak. Ramos-Horta won against Guterres in 2007, buoyed by the support of Gusmao's National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT) party. But this time the party is backing Ruak, amid signs that the president and prime minister no longer see eye-to-eye on many issues. Rallies by Guterres and Ruak have pulled in the largest number of supporters. The peaceful run-up to the election stands in stark contrast to the rioting and factional fighting that erupted in 2006 ahead of parliamentary elections the following year, which left at least 37 dead and pushed the country to the brink of civil war. Last year the UN officially handed security responsibilities back to East Timor police, although around 1,200 UN forces remain in the country. The country's own security forces will officially safeguard the elections but UN forces are ready to step in if needed, Ameerah Haq, the UN Secretary General's special representative for East Timor, told AFP. Around Dili on Friday, United Nations Police (UNPOL) in white 4x4s escorted local police as they distributed sealed boxes of ballot papers to polling stations around the capital, set up inside schools and other public places. The voting age is 17, and more than 620,000 Timorese are eligible to vote at 850 polling stations nationwide, which will remain open from 7:00 am (2200 GMT Friday) until 3:00 pm. Candidates must garner more than 50 percent of the vote for an outright win, otherwise a run-off will be held in two weeks. Formal results from Saturday's polling are not expected until early next week. International observers and representatives from Australia, the European Union and Portuguese-speaking nations are monitoring the polls.