East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta will seek another five-year term in March elections, his office said Tuesday.

"Nobel Peace Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta announced today that he is standing for re-election in Timor-Leste's 17th March presidential elections," the president's website said, using the country's official name.

About 10 presidential hopefuls have now entered the race, including the opposition's Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres and the former head of the armed forces, Major General Taur Matar Ruak.

Insiders say the election is set to turn into a three-way match between the 62-year-old incumbent, "Lu Olo" and Ruak.

The polls come as UN peacekeepers, stationed in East Timor since the historic 1999 vote for independence after Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation, prepare to withdraw from the once-restive country.