Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's center-right government has survived a vote of no-confidence called by the opposition over water shortages that have already cost Environment Minister Neno Dimov his job.
Only 102 lawmakers in the 240-seat parliament voted in favor of toppling the government on January 29, while 124 deputies were against. It was the fourth attempt to defeat the government in a confidence vote since it took power in 2017.
Dimov resigned from his post as environment and water minister on January 10 and has been charged with deliberate mismanagement of water supplies in a western region of the country.
Prosecutors accuse him of providing water supplies to industrial users even when he had been informed that the water in a dam -- the only source of drinking water to Pernik and surrounding area -- had seriously decreased.
Dimov, who faces up to eight years in prison, has denied any wrongdoing and blamed the water crisis on dry weather and poor management of the local water facility.