The Romanian Social Democratic government collapsed on Thursday, losing a censure motion initiated by main opposition National Liberal Party and supported by almost all the other parties in the parliament.   

It opened the way for a transitional government until a parliamentary election in late 2020, the parliament's vote count showed. 

"We have stopped the Social Democratic Party from hurting Romania," said Ludovic Orban, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party, which spearheaded the no-confidence vote. 

Official data showed 238 lawmakers voted to topple Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. 

The motion needed 233 votes to pass. 

Thus, the cabinet led by Dancila became the fourth government impeached in Romania in the last 30 years. 

This was the third censure motion that the outgoing prime minister encountered after taking office at the end of January 2018. Dancila's cabinet failed to survive after her cabinet was abandoned by its coalition partner in late August and lost the overall majority in parliament.