Leader of Mauritanian military junta General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said on Wednesday that he would resign before April 22 and the Presidential elections scheduled for June 6 will go ahead, according to agencies' reports.
Abdel Aziz told France 24 television station that he would hand in resignation before April 22 if God wants it. He added that 90 per cent of Mauritanians want these elections. "It is the people's choice," the junta leader was quoted as saying.
Abdel Aziz, President of the ruling High Council of State, led a military coup in August to oust Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who is seen as the country's first democratically elected president.
Last week, Abdallahi was allowed to go to Libya for talks with Ghaddafi after released from house arrest in December.
Earlier this month, Mauritanian major opposition party, the Assembly of Democratic Forces, has rejected the election agenda proposed by the military junta despite the mediation by Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi.
Mauritania is suspended from the AU and the Economic Community of West African States as part of the international pressure to force the return of the constitutional order.
The military junta announced the August 6 election and the formation of an electoral commission in January.