Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has criticized Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for his unexpected decision to resign on Wednesday.

Plevneliev admitted that he was surprised by the move.

"The politically responsible option was for the Cabinet to finish its term," the President told reporters.

Plevneliev also said that he will hand down on Monday the mandate for forming a new government to the biggest party in parliament – Borisov's center-right GERB, as the Constitution requires.

His statement came shortly after parliament accepted Thursday the resignation handed by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his Cabinet.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov made the shocking announcement Wednesday that his cabinet is to resign en masse around noon. The move follows a tumultuous week of public anger over rising electricity prices, corruption and austerity measures that ignited mass protests nationwide.

Borissov told MPs on Wednesday that his party would not be part of a caretaker government.