July 24 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's National Assembly accepted on Thursday the resignation of the country's Socialist-led government headed by prime minister Plamen Oresharski, the parliament's speaker said.
The National Assembly accepted the cabinet's resignation in a 180 to 8 vote, as eight MPs abstained from voting, Mihail Mikov said.
Oresharski submitted his cabinet's resignation with parliament on Wednesday.
On June 30, Bulgaria's president Rosen Plevneliev said he will dissolve parliament on August 6 and appoint an interim government to run the country until snap elections are held on October 5.
His announcement came after earlier that month the leader of the government's junior ally, the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), called for early general elections, saying the results of the recent elections for members of the European Parliament (EP) - in which the Socialists suffered a crushing defeat - created a new political reality in the country.
In response, the leader of the Socialist party said that MRF having withdrawn its support for the government, early elections should be held as soon as possible.
The opposition centre-right GERB party won the May 25 elections for EP by a decisive margin, polling 30.4% of the votes. The Socialists' Coalition for Bulgaria was supported by a mere 18.9% of voters, followed closely by the MRF with 17.3%.
Over the past year GERB has repeatedly called for early general elections in the country.
The leaders of two other political formations which crossed the 5.88% threshold for entry into the EP - Bulgaria without Censorship and the Reformist Bloc - too have demanded snap elections.