March 15 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's prime minister Miro Cerar announced late on Wednesday he is stepping down after the country's Supreme Court annulled a referendum on the Koper-Divaca railway project, the government said.
"Cerar promised he would see to it that the government takes care of the day-to-day business and pressing matters and to preserve peace and stability in Slovenia until a new government is elected," the government said in a short statement.
Slovenia is set to hold general elections in June.
According to local media, Cerar handed his resignation to parliament on Thursday and parliament now has seven days to vote on it. If the resignation is accepted, a prime minister designate should be elected within 30 days. If not, parliament will be dissolved.
In September, 53% of Slovenians voted in a referendum to support the construction of a second track of the Divaca–Koper railway.
"After two decades and efforts by previous governments, the construction of the second track has now finally and definitely shifted from a dead end," Cerar said at the time.
The call for a referendum was launched by locals who demanded relocation of the existing track and construction of a new two-track line.
The existing Divaca - Koper line does not meet the standards for the core network which were adopted by the Council of the EU in 2012 and are expected to be implemented by 2030.
On Wednesday, however, the Supreme Court of Slovenia, said the outcome of the referendum should be annulled as government campaigning for the project could have affected the final results.