DENPASAR, Indonesia -- On April 9, East Timor will choose who will replace ex-guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president. The vote is the first since the country restored independence on May 20, 2002. But there is little to celebrate, as poverty, social and political upheaval, and widespread violence plague Asia's newest nation. Among the eight candidates, Nobel Peace Prize winner and current Prime Minister Jose Ramon-Horta is the overwhelming favorite. While the directly elected presidency is a largely symbolic post, Gusmao played a central part in running the country and the next president could have a significant effect on the country's future, which has never looked as bleak since independence. Last year was an annum horribilis for East Timor, once a model of United Nations nation-building. Triggered by a dispute within the East Timor Defense Force (F-FDTL), violent clashes in April 2006 revealed unhealed wounds and new dysfunctions.
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