President José Ramos-Horta attends a campaign rally in Dili, East Timor, on Jan. 29, 2012
Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor, holds presidential elections March 17, followed by a second-round vote in April and general elections in June. The presidential poll sees incumbent José Ramos-Horta, up against current parliamentary speaker Fernando de Araújo, his predecessor Francisco Guterres and the former defense chief Taur Matan Ruak. The country, hit by internal unrest in 2006, has recently enjoyed its longest period of stability since independence from Indonesia in 2002 with the help of an Australian-led International Stabilization Force and 1,600 police personnel. A successful election will encourage the long-awaited withdrawal of these peacekeepers. However, seeds of unrest remain, in particular entrenched distrust from the 2006 crisis. “Any deliberate manipulation of these frustrations has the potential to be incendiary,” the International Crisis Group warned on Feb. 21.