He said with the first tranche of the bailout arriving, he now had the moral duty to ask the Greek people to deliver their judgment.
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Back in July, Greek voters voted against a new bailout package, but eventually the government gave in to demands from its European creditors, causing a divide in Syriza, which now controls Greek parliament.
But the bailout is conditional on Greece imposing stringent spending cuts and tax hikes – the very measures that Mr Tsipras won elections in January vowing to repeal.
“Once he submits his resignation the prime minister would be replaced by the president of Greece’s supreme court, Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou – a vocal bailout opponent – who would oversee the elections as the head of a transitional government”, writes the UK Guardian.
In his speech, Tsipras sought to defend his government’s efforts to reach a deal with creditors but conceded that he failed to do so. Tsipras relies exclusively on opposition support to pass legislation in parliament.
“I will shortly meet with the president of the republic and present my resignation and that of my government”, Tsipras said in a live televised address to the nation on Thursday.
Alexis Tsipras has confirmed he is resigning as Greek Prime Minister – paving the way for a general election to take place within the next 30 days.
Tsipras has long argued that Greece will never be able to repay all its debts and wants some to be written off. While the euro zone favours merely delaying interest and principal repayments, Tsipras could still present any debt relief moves as an achievement to the electorate.
Tsipras insists that he had to accept the unpalatable bailout terms to keep Greece in the euro, the EU’s common currency. It was after Greece received these funds – which paid off outstanding obligations – that Tsipras resigned.
Missing the payment would have raised new questions about the country’s ability to remain in the euro.
Amid such opposition, Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said the government had to address the split within the party without delay.
The prime minister was holding meetings with his ministers, and there was speculation an announcement could come as soon as Thursday afternoon.
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A parliamentary vote to approve the bailout conditions last week led to dozens of Syriza lawmakers voting against him, accusing him of capitulating to unreasonable demands that will plunge the Greek economy further into recession.
