STOCKHOLM: Sweden Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Monday that he has resigned and asked the speaker of parliament to find a replacement after the Social Democratic leader lost a vote of no confidence in parliament last week.

TASS reported that the Prime Minister told a press conference today that he has informed the speaker of the parliament about his resignation. “I have asked the speaker to relieve me from the position of the Prime Minister. The speaker will try to form a new government,” Lofven said.

On June 17, the Sweden Democrats political party demanded a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister.

Earlier, the Left Party chairwoman Nooshi Dadgostar claimed she does not trust Lovfen because of the government’s proposal to set market prices for apartments in new houses. The vote took place on June 21, with 181 out of 349 lawmakers voting against the Prime Minister.

Lofven had two options: either to resign or to hold snap elections; he held consultations with the lawmakers in this regard. The news agency further reported, Lofven noted at the press conferences that holding snap elections amid the pandemic-related state of emergency is not the best solution for Sweden.

“Now, the speaker can begin working in order to come up with a candidacy that the parliament would approve. The government continues to control the country as an interim one,” the Prime Minister said, expressing his readiness to attempt to form a government once again.

The speaker can propose four candidacies for the office of the prime minister. Should all of them be rejected, Sweden will hold snap elections. Barely a year before a general election, Lofven became the first prime minister in Swedish history to be ousted by a no-confidence motion put forward by the opposition.

According to CNN, the Left party blamed the prime minister for the crisis, saying the Social Democrat-led government had “given up on the Left party and the Swedish people”, rather than the other way round. (ANI)