East Timor’s leaders were trying to decide on a new prime minister today following the resignation of Mari Alkatiri, raising hopes for an end to months of political paralysis and violence in Asia’s newest nation.

The UN should help oversee elections in East Timor and stay involved in the violence-scarred nation for at least a decade, the foreign minister said today, noting that restoring order and building a democracy would take time and money.

Xanana Gusmao’s expected landslide victory in East Timor’s first presidential elections completes the transformation of the charismatic poet and guerrilla leader to a respected statesman.