Voting to escape the past

A decade after independence and with UN mission coming to an end, East Timor goes to the polls, writes Simon Roughneen

IN a decade-old country dominated by a cadre of prestigious former freedom fighters, younger politicians sometimes find it difficult to make themselves heard.

An hour’s bone-jarring drive from capital Dili, up winding mountain roads through some of East Timor’s coffee-growing hills, Fernanda Borges tries to woo voters in Aileu during a final campaign event ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary election.