BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva decided to resign on Sunday after his party failed to meet its target in the general election.

Abhisit, who is also a former prime minister, announced his resignation after the election concluded on Sunday. He pledged to continue to dedicate himself to political work and thanked his supporters.

Exit polls and partial results indicated that the Democrat Party would win 88 seats.

He had said earlier that he would resign if the party won fewer than 100 seats in the vote.

Thailand held its first general election since the 2014 coup on Sunday, with 80 political parties contesting the ballot.