SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s government resigned on Thursday as mass protests gripped the country just weeks before it’s due to join the eurozone.
The resignation of the minority coalition, led by the center-right GERB party, was announced minutes before parliament was scheduled to vote on a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition over economic mismanagement and supported by growing public anger with widespread corruption.
“Ahead of today’s vote of no confidence, the government is resigning,” Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov told reporters in parliament.
“The decisions of the National Assembly are meaningful when they reflect the will of the people. We want to be where society expects us to be,” Zhelyazkov said, referring to the anti-government protests.
“We have no doubt that the government will receive support in the upcoming vote of no confidence. Regardless, the decisions of the National Assembly are important when they reflect the will of the sovereign,” the prime minister said.
The move came after recent protests drew tens of thousands of Bulgarians on the streets in the capital, Sofia and other cities. Demonstrators demanded the resignation of the government, expressing their frustration with political corruption.
The Balkan country of 6.4 million people is to make the switch from its national currency, the lev, to the euro on Jan. 1.
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