Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos announced on Monday his resignation from the post after being elected on Sunday to head the Socialist party PASOK in the run-up to early general elections expected in late April or May.

According to the latest results released from the electoral commission, with 75.9 percent of the votes counted in party elections held nationwide on Sunday during which some 240,000 party members participated, Venizelos won 97.3 percent of the votes.

In two separate meetings with Greek President Karolos Papoulias and Greek interim Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Monday noon, he formally informed them of his decision to quit the post he had held since last June.

"With polls ahead, today I had a farewell meeting at the ministry for final instructions... From my new post I will do my national duty so that the country will overcome the crisis," he said, referring to the acute debt crisis that has alarmed the international financial system over the prospect of a Greek bankruptcy since 2009.

He added, however, that there should be no delays in the implementation of austerity and reform measures pledged to international creditors to meet goals set to exit the crisis, due to the election process.

Venizelos is due to officially take over the reins of the PASOK party from former Prime Minister and outgoing PASOK party head George Papandreou at the party's headquarters, shortly before he joins for the last time a cabinet meeting later on Monday afternoon during which he is expected to formally submit his resignation.

Local analysts noted that Venizelos would face major challenges at the helm of PASOK.

The party which was founded after the restoration of democracy in Greece in the mid-70s led by Andreas Papandreou, the late father of George Papandreou, and ruled Greece for years, has seen its ratings plunging to record low levels in opinion polls due to its harsh austerity drive.

Recent opinion polls have seen its support sink to as low as 11 percent, while the conservative New Democracy party, which also supports the interim coalition administration, leads with 25 percent.

Analysts expect that with no party winning outright parliamentary majority, a new coalition ND-PASOK administration will take over.