Italy’s ex-premier Matteo Renzi on Monday tendered his resignation as Democratic Party chief after it suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday's national election, winning just 18.7 percent of votes.
"It's obvious that I must leave the helm of the Democratic Party," Renzi said at a press conference in Rome.
"It seems we have recognised a clear defeat that obliges us to turn over a new page within the Democratic Party."
A party congress would be held to select a new leader after the new parliament and government has been sworn in, Renzi said.
Meanwhile he ruled out an alliance with "extremists", referring to the anti-immigrant Northern League and the populist Five Star Movement, who came out on top in Sunday's polls.
Though no party will be able to rule alone, the Northern League and the Five Star Movement each claimed on Monday they had the right to govern Italy after winning 17.4 percent and 32.6 percent of votes respectively.
The centre-right alliance, which includes the Northern League, got 37 percent of Sunday's vote - far ahead of the centre-left alliance's 24 percent, but fell short of winning a ruling majority.
Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party won a mere 14 percent of votes, less than the Northern League which more than quadrupled its vote since 2013.
