East Timor's 16 parties and UN transition administration have completed the draft of a "National Unity Pact", which expresses support for the election of independence leader Xanana Gusmao as the territory's first president, a Dili official said Tuesday.

Pedro Silva, a senior aide to chief UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello, told Lusa that the 15-point pact would be formally presented to the parties Wednesday.

No date has yet been set for signing the document, but Vieira de Mello has said he hoped it would be ratified by all party leaders before the July 15 start of campaigning for August 30 constitutent assembly elections.

"In principle there should be no problem with approving the text as it was drawn up including suggestions from the parties", Silva said. Formal work on the National Unity Pact began last weekend, involving Vieira de Mello and representatives of five parties selected by all 16 political organizations.

Its 15th and final point calls for supporting Gusmao in future elections as "the first president of the Republic of East Timor", given "the aspirations of the overwhelming majority" of the people. Gusmao has repeatedly said he did not wish to run for the presidency.

Among other basic principles, the pact, a copy of which was obtained by Lusa, calls on the parties to form an "inclusive" transition government "reflecting the results" of the August 30 balloting.

It also commits the parties to creating "an atmosphere of peace and stability" during and after the elections and to assuring "a climate of mutual respect and confidence". The National Unity Pact also stipulates "unconditional" recognition of the 1999 independence plebiscite from Indonesia, respect for the results of the upcoming vote and "intransigent" defense of East Timor's territorial integrity.