27 Aug 01 19:36 East Timor: PSD Leader Hopes for 30 to 40 Percent of Vote, Criticizes Fretilin

The leader of East Timor's Social Democratic Party (PSD) said Monday in Dili he hoped his party would obtain between 30 and 40 percent of the vote in Thursday's Constituent Assembly elections.

Mario Carrascalao, who was a governor of East Timor during the Indonesian occupation, nevertheless cautioned that the results would "not be genuine", even if his party won the elections.

"The UN did not provide means for the parties to publicize their messages, so it cannot be said that these elections were genuinely free", Mario Carrascalao said, after considering that the election campaign had been marked by "enormous security conditions".

"The PSD has had no reason to complain, except for the stones thrown at one of our campaign caravans in Maliana by members of Fretilin", he stated.

Fretilin supporters, "with or without the guidance of its leadership", have on occasion intimidated or otherwise harassed the PSD, Mario Carrascalao charged. He went on to criticize the historic pro-independence party, accusing Fretilin of "wanting to restore 1975 and to impose what was imposed in 1975".

"If Fretilin obtains an absolute majority, which I don't believe, it will be difficult for it to maintain the prestige to win future elections", the PSD leader said. He defended the formation of national unity government after the August 30 Constituent Assembly elections, a proposal not accepted by Fretilin, which has said it will not negotiate the formation of the future government with other parties.

Fretilin is widely favored to win the Thursday ballot, with its leaders saying they expect to win a minimum 73 of the 88 seats in the Constituent Assembly, which will be charged with drawing up East Timor's future national constitution.

JBC -Lusa-

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