3 candidates to be in E. Timor runoff

Three candidates battled Wednesday for a spot in East Timor's presidential runoff after none got enough votes to win outright, a situation that could prolong this fledgling nation's political instability.

Adding to the tensions, five candidates claimed fraud.

With around 70 percent of votes counted, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta was tied for the lead with the Fretilin Party's Francisco Guterres and the Democratic Party's Fernando de Araujo, the National Election Commission said.

A runoff was certain as each had around 21 percent of the vote, far short of the 50 percent plus one vote needed to win outright. The showdown between the two top votegetters was scheduled for May 8.

"Everything indicates a second ballot," Ramos-Horta, 57, told reporters, urging all candidates to respect the final tally to be released on April 19. "Whatever the outcome, we must all honor it and work toward a peaceful acceptance."

Five candidates immediately protested, alleging in a letter to the electoral commission that figures had been manipulated. They demanded all ballot boxes be secured in a single place and be recounted in public.

"We have found a clear manipulation during the count," said Lucia Lobato, the only female candidate, who did not elaborate. "If the CNE doesn't listen to our demand we will not accept the result of the elections."

East Timor was heralded as a success in nation-building when it formally declared independence from Indonesia in 2002. But gunbattles between rival security forces spiraled into gang warfare and looting last year, after then-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri fired a third of the tiny army.

At least 37 people were killed and some 155,000 fled their homes before the government collapsed.

Ramos-Horta and his close ally, outgoing President Xanana Gusmao _ who will run for prime minister in the more crucial parliamentary elections this June _ are hoping to sideline the traditionally popular Fretilin party.

The left-wing party, which has a majority in Parliament, said before Monday's vote it would accept nothing short of victory.

Ramos-Horta, who won the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for championing East Timor's struggle to end decades of brutal Indonesian rule, replaced Alkatiri as prime minister last year. Though by far the best-known of the eight candidates, turnout at his recent election campaign rallies was lower than expected.

Angry protests broke out last month when Australian troops tried to capture popular rebel leader Alfredo Reinado in a raid backed by the Nobel laureate. Reinado escaped, but four of his followers were killed.

Ramos-Horta, who ran as an independent, also has been criticized for failing to imprison former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato, accused of helping arm civilian militias during last year's unrest.

East Timor was a Portuguese colony for more than three centuries before it was invaded by Indonesia in 1976. Insurgents spent the next 24 years fighting the occupation, a struggle Ramos-Horta championed from exile.

When its people voted for independence in 1999, Indonesian troops and their militia allies went on a rampage, killing more than 1,000 people and razing Dili to the ground.

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Associated Press writers Anthony Deutsch and Guido Goulart contributed to this report.