PRESIDENT MUGABE RESIGNS THIS EVENING+HIS DEPUTY TO BE SWORN IN TOMORROW AS PRESIDENT.{PHOTOS}

     A letter from Mr Mugabe read out by the speaker of parliament said the decision was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power.

The news abruptly halted an impeachment hearing that had begun against him.

The ruling Zanu-PF party says former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa will succeed Mr Mugabe, in power since 1980.

Mr Mnangagwa's sacking earlier this month triggered a political crisis.

It had been seen by many as an attempt to clear the way for Grace Mugabe to succeed her husband as leader and riled the military leadership, who stepped in and put Mr Mugabe under house arrest.

Another source said ''Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has resigned, ending his 37-year reign.His resignation brings to an end the political impasse in the state since last week when the military took charge of the government.

Mr. Mugabe, 93, had initially refused to resign, insisting he would hold on to power.

His resignation was announced Tuesday evening by the speaker of Zimbabwean parliament during a hearing to impeach him.

The development has now thrown Zimbabwe into a new era of uncharted political future, as his estranged vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, prepares to take over as the new president.

Mr. Mnangagwa would be sworn in on Wednesday in Harare, according to media reports.

The resignation marked the climax of an eight-day turmoil sparked by last week’s move by the military to seize control of the government in order to block the rise to power of Mr. Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

Mrs. Mugabe had been scheming to become the next leader of Zimbabwe after the expiration of her husband’s current tenure next year.

The efforts to make her leader had been largely opposed by military chiefs, with Chief of Army Staff Constantino Chiwenga warning that the country could be plunged into crisis if someone who didn’t participate in the liberation struggle was made to head the country, an apparent rebuke of the 52-year old who married Mr. Mugabe in 1996.The military later denied that its action constituted a coup, saying it was only after members of a clique in Mr. Mugabe’s cabinet who were deemed corrupt and criminal. The intervention snowballed into a popular revolt against Mr. Mugabe.

Jacob Mudenda, the speaker, said the letter indicating Mr. Mugabe’s decision to resign was voluntary. But the ousted president did not leave anyone in charge.

The announcement was welcomed with wild cheers and celebrations which spread through the streets of Harare, the country’s capital.The African Union has welcomed the development, with its chairperson, Alpha Conde, saying it was a shame that Mr. Mugabe had to leave through the back door.But he remained “a great fighter,” Mr. Conde, Guinean president, said.More photos below.