Montenegro’s parliament speaker Ranko Krivokapic has cancelled a regular session scheduled for March 23, whose agenda included a proposal for his dismissal, broadcaster RTCG reported.

The ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) led by prime minister Milo Djukanovic, along with several small opposition parties, filed a request to replace Krivokapic on February 22. Krivokapic is the leader of the DPS’s former long-term ally, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). His party voted against the government in a confidence vote on January 27, breaking the 18-year coalition between the two parties.

The appointment of a parliament speaker from the SDP was part of the latest coalition agreement between the DPS and the SDP, signed in 2012. According to the DPS, its former ally broke the agreement by voting against the government, which was the grounds for their request to dismiss Krivokapic.

The parliament’s agenda included discussions on 13 laws proposed by the government. All of them had to be voted on prior to the proposal for Krivokapic’s dismissal. However, the government decided to withdraw all the legislative proposals in order to bring forward the start of the debate on the parliament speaker’s fate.

Krivokapic said that the government’s move was against regulations and that another session of the parliament would be called soon, but provided no timeframe. Local politicians commented that his move went beyond the authority of the parliament speaker.