The leader of a junta ruling Mauritania says he will resign before April 22 and confirmed that a presidential election will take place as planned on June 6, contradicting rumours of a postponement.

“I will resign, if God wills, before April 22,” General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said during an interview with FRANCE 24 on Wednesday. “Elections set for June 6 will not be postponed. Ninety percent of Mauritanians want these elections; it is the choice of the people”.

Ould Abdel Aziz must resign at least 45 days ahead of the June vote to be eligible as a presidential candidate. But he did not confirm plans to go for the top spot, saying only that he is “currently considering the possibility of running”.     

The general has ruled the west African state since a military overthrow of its elected president, Sidi Mohamed Ould Sheikh Abdallahi, in August 2008. The move resulted in widespread international condemnation and prompted the African Union to impose sanctions on the country.      

Ould Abdel Aziz described Abdallahi’s ouster as being “vital for the country”.

“We had to save the country from an internal implosion,” he told FRANCE 24. “The government and the former president blocked all of the democratic institutions in this country and they paralysed the democratic process.”     

He denied that the change in regime was a coup d’état, calling it instead a “rectification”.

Ould Abdel Aziz said Abdallahi had stopped the parliament from meeting, “unilaterally” dismissed army leaders and blocked inquiries into what he called the “catastrophic management of public assets”.    

“These actions were illegal,” he said.