The first presidential election in East Timor was held on 20 April 2002. Prior to the election I joined the Xanana Gusmo election team on his campaign tour. The charismatic Xanana was a legendary guerrilla commander when in 1991 when he was arrested by Indonesian authority. Despite his arrest and seven year imprisonment, East Timorese guerilla’s continued to take their orders from Xanana, via an underground resistance network. During the campaign Xanana kept emphasizing the importance of democracy, and described his role as future president as being "the people's eyes, mouth and ears" so that "I will see their needs, speak on their behalf and listen to them". The greatest test of Xanana's leadership will be maintaining the solidarity of the people as they face new uncertainties and challenges of the future.