November 14 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's coalition government doesn't plan to withdraw the country's 2017 draft budget from parliament, finance minister Vladislav Goranov said on Monday shortly after prime minister Boyko Borissov submitted the resignation of the cabinet.
"The government doesn't give up any of the policies it has been pursuing since taking office two years ago. The remain valid for us and we'll continue to work on their implementation until we are in power," Goranov said in a statement. "We leave it to the MPs to show responsible approach to debates on the budget and adopt it."
In October, the government approved the 2017 budget draft which envisages a deficit equivalent to 1.4% of the projected gross domestic product (GDP).
Delivering on his earlier pledge to resign if the candidate of his centre-right GERB party loses the presidential elections, party leader Borissov submitted to parliament the resignation of the minority coalition cabinet composed of GERB and their junior coalition partner, right-wing Reformist Bloc. In a letter to the MPs Borissov said that the cabinet would continue to perform its duties until a new government takes over and will ensure continuity in the governing of the country.
GERB's candidate in the presidential elections, parliament speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, lost to Rumen Radev, a former Air Force commander seen as friendly to Moscow who was backed by main opposition Socialists. Radev won 59.35% of the votes in Sunday's run-off against Tsacheva, who had 36.17%, according to nearly final official results.
Borissov said on Sunday that the results "make it clear there is no majority, and actually not only can we not push through with reforms, but we cannot adopt the budget."