Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Tuesday resigned as president in a
statement published in the online version of the official daily
Granma.
"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent
days of electing me a member of parliament ... I communicate to you
that I will not aspire to or accept ... the position of president
of council of state and commander in chief," Castro said in the
statement.
Castro, who temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul
Castro due to his gastro-intestinal surgery in July 2006, was
reelected a deputy of the National Assembly in January.
The assembly will be convened on Sunday. Under Cuba's
constitution, the National Assembly chooses 31 of its members to
form the Council of State, whose leader will be Cuba's
president.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2008)
