Presidential hopeful pledges to 'heal' East Timor

Nobel Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta vowed to heal deep political and social rifts in East Timor after poll results showed him on course for a landslide victory in presidential elections in Asia’s newest nation.

“I will honour what I told the people in the campaign: I will work for the poor, with the entire country, to unite it, and heal its wounds,” Ramos-Horta said yesterday after results showed him winning 73% of the vote, with almost 90% of ballots counted.