Mauritanian President-elect Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Sunday resigned from the post of president of the Union for the Republic Party to take office as the head of state, according to news from Nouakchot.

At the plenary session of the Union for the Republic Party, Aziz said he would resign as president of the party, which he founded, and that he would be sworn in as president on Aug. 5.

Under Mauritania's constitution, a head of state is banned from serving as the leader of a political party at the same time.

Aziz also called on the Mauritanian people to unite together to support the country's "constructive reform" and make their due contributions to the development of the country.

After Aziz's resignation, the plenary session of the party elected former defense minister Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed Lemine as the chairman of the 57-member interim executive bureau of the party.

Mauritania's civilian government was overthrown on Aug. 6, 2008, in a military coup led by then-General Aziz. On April 16 this year, Aziz resigned from the military to run for the presidency.

Aziz won the July 18 presidential election with 52.58 percent of the tally.

Source: Xinhua