Sofia - The Bulgarian parliament on Thursday relieved central bank chief Ivan Iskrov of his duties hours after he tendered his resignation amid a clash with the new ruling coalition.

Iskrov, governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, handed in his resignation to the parliament at the start of the working day, speaker Tsetska Tsacheva said.

Bulgaria's legislature voted 108-59 to accept Iskrov's resignation. The parliament has 240 seats.

Iskrov's note of resignation said he was stepping down over the decision of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's cabinet to sack the deputy central bank governor, Nikolay Nenovski.

Iskrov has headed the central bank since 2003, earning praise for maintaining a tight monetary policy that shored up the previously volatile Bulgarian currency, the lev.

Borisov's party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria - known as GERB in Bulgarian, won the most votes in parliamentary elections last month, sweeping Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev from power after four years.

Stanishev has criticized extensive personnel changes initiated by GERB since the elections as a "witch-hunt." (dpa)