In his election speech on Sunday, Lu Olo identified access to clean water and delivering promised financial support to vulnerable families as two issues that require urgent attention for the people of Suia.

He said better coordination between government and municipalities will enhance delivery of State-funded projects and will provide security for citizens in remote communities.

" I want to say to the people in Suai municipality, and especially to the people in the capital of Suai Covalima, to believe that what we have said are not false promises,” Lu Olo said, pledging to oversee delivery of the $200 a month subsidy to families by December. 

Lu Olo, who finished second in the first round of voting in March, promised to speed up public works in Timor-Leste and secure more stability to unite the fractured government.

Lu Olo had just 22.1 percent of the vote compared with Jose Ramos Horta’s 46.6%, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said.

A run-off is scheduled for April 19, and the winner will take office on May 20 — the 20th anniversary of the country's independence from Indonesia.

Horta, Timor-Leste's president from 2007 to 2012, and Lu Olo have traded accusations of triggering a years-long political paralysis.

The president is responsible for naming the government and dissolving parliament.

Lu Olo’s party Fretilin, have said Horta is unfit for president, accusing him of causing a crisis as prime minister in 2006, when dozens were killed as political rivalries turned into open conflict on the streets of Dili.