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AMMAN, May 17 (Reuters) - Syrian National Council President Burhan Ghalioun said on Thursday he was ready to quit as the head of the main opposition body, after mounting criticism of his leadership.
"I declare my resignation as soon as a replacement is found through elections or consensus," Ghalioun told Reuters.
"I have not chosen this post for personal gain, but I have been accepting it to preserve cohesion. I am not ready to be a cause for division. The revolution is above personalities," he added.
The splintered Syrian National Council re-elected the secular liberal Ghalioun as president on Tuesday, but several senior members said his continued re-election would not help the council promote a democratic alternative to President Bashar al-Assad.
Ghalioun has led the opposition in exile since the SNC's creation in August 2011.
Infighting and a lack of political coherence within the SNC have hindered its effort to win formal international recognition as the sole legitimate representative of the anti-Assad movement. (Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; editing by Andrew Roche)
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