Brasília, February 19, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Federal Elections Court (TSE) should take part in the preparation of East Timor's new election laws, as well as continuing its collaboration as observer for elections and in the task of listing voters and tallying votes in that country.

The first meeting of the Brazil/East Timor Mixed Commission, created to develop public policies during East Timor's independence process, was held yesterday (18) in the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Among the topics discussed was the TSE's collaboration with the electoral process in East Timor.

The partnership with East Timor began in 1999, when Court officials were dispatched to help East Timor prepare for local elections. During the period 2001-02 the TSE sent election observers to accompany the preparations and the voting.

The president of the TSE, Minister Sepúlveda Pertence, attended a luncheon in honor of East Timor's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Ramos-Horta. Brazilian Ministers Celso Amorim (Foreign Relations), José Viegas (Defense), and Roberto Rodrigues (Agriculture) were also present, as well as other officials actively involved in the process of rebuilding East Timor.

The work of the Commission is being accompanied by two TSE officials, Cláudia Gama, international adviser, and Paulo Camarão, Secretary of Informatics. The second meeting should be held in East Timor, on a still-undetermined date.

This information was obtained from the TSE's site (DAS)