Despite Orderly Transition, Questions Remain for East Timor

Despite Orderly Transition, Questions Remain for East Timor
East Timor’s new Prime Minister Rui Araujo reads his oath during his inauguration ceremony, Dili, East Timor, Feb. 16, 2015 (AP photo by Kandhi Barnez).

Xanana Gusmao stepped down as East Timor’s prime minister earlier this month, leaving the post to opposition leader Rui Araujo. In an email interview, Gordon Peake, a research fellow in the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at Australia National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific and author of “Beloved Land: Stories, Struggles & Secrets from Timor-Leste,” discussed East Timor’s political transition and democracy.

WPR: What were the political and other factors that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and the appointment of Rui Araujo from the opposition Fretilin party?

Gordon Peake: No one really knows for sure. Some speculate that Xanana Gusmao, the longtime resistance leader turned statesman, is exhausted from years of governing in coalition; others suggest he’s weighed down by the scandals that swirl around many of his ministers and hangers-on. His age—he’s approaching 70 years old—and related health issues are also often cited.

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