East Timor coalition ready to form government led by Xanana Gusmao

A six-party coalition in East Timor is ready to form a government led by independence hero Xanana Gusmao, it has told President Francisco Guterres in a letter, the coalition's spokesman, Antonio da Conceicao, said on Tuesday.

Gusmao, the first president and a former prime minister, last month announced he had formed a new coalition controlling 34 of parliament's 65 seats and said he would prepare to form a new government.

The tiny Southeast Asian nation has faced a new round of political instability since the collapse of a coalition supporting Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.