East Timor's Electoral Commission has confirmed there will be a second round of elections to choose a new president to replace Xanana Gusmao.

After days of counting the commission says the final results of April 9's election gave the highest number of votes to the ruling Fretilin party candidate Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres, who took 28 per cent of the poll.

Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta came second on 22 per cent.

None of the eight candidates who stood in the April 9 elections won the necessary 50 percent majority to avoid a second round.

The run-off election has been scheduled for May 9, and official campaigning will begin Monday April 23.

The commission also said that despite widespread complaints by voters and candidates of irregularities and voter intimidation, it has not been able to substantiate any of the allegations.

The United Nations says it is confident the first round poll was free and fair.

June 30 has also been named as the date for parliamentary elections to elect a new government.

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In East Timor, there are calls for the country's election commission spokesman to be replaced. The Australian observer of last week's presidential poll says Martinho Gusmao has brought the commission into disrepute and should be replaced.

Presenter/Interviewer - Sabra Lane
Speakers - Martinho Gusmao, East Timor's Election Commission spokesman; Dr Damien Kingsbury, Australian observer of East Timor's presidential poll

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East Timor's national election commission is blaming a technical error for a discrepancy between the number of registered voters in the district of Baucau and the actual number of votes reported. Baucau has around 100,000 eligible voters but officials found over 300,000 votes during counting.

Presenter - Hidayat Djajamihardja in Dili
Speaker - Martinho Gusmao, spokesman for East Timor's national election commission

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Virtually all of the eight candidates in East Timor's presidential election have alleged serious counting irregularities or intimidation of voters to the advantage of Fretlin's candidate Fransisco 'Lu Olo' Gutterres. Fretilin's secretary-general and former prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, has denied foul play.

Presenter - Karon Snowdon
Speaker - Fernando de Araujo Lasama, Democratic Party candidate; Lucia Lobato Social Democrats Presidential candidate; Harold Mucho political advisor to Fretilin Party candidate Fransisco Gutterres

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Five of the eight presidential candidates contesting East Timor's presidency have formally complained of fraud in the ballot and are demanding a recount, Meanwhile a runoff poll will go ahead next month because no candidate has won more than 50 percent of the vote.

Presenter/Interviewer - Linda LoPresti
Speakers - Timor expert Damien Kingsbury from Australia's Deakin University

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East Timor will now have an anxious wait for an outcome and hope the situation remains calm. But there are fears any early claim of victory will raise the potential for violence. A confident Fretilin Party believes it will have be able to claim victory.

Presenter/Interviewer - Karon Snowdon
Speakers - Jose Fernandes, Fretilin Deputy Secretary-General and Official representative of Fretilin candidate and Party Chairman Fransisco Gutterres; Associate Professor Damian Kingsbury from Deakin University is with the Victorian Local Governance Observer Group in East Timor

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More than half a million people have gone to the polls today to vote for a new president. Counting has begun in the election to replace Xanana Gusmao as president. A total of eight candidates are seeking the presidency. The top two contenders include Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and chairman of the ruling Fretilin Party, Francisco Guterres.

Presenter/Interviewer - Linda LoPresti
Speakers - ABC reporter Anne Barker, Dili