AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A senior Jordanian government official says the country’s prime minister has tendered his resignation, the day after a majority of parliamentarians called for his ouster.

Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit had been widely perceived as dragging his heels on a political reform package.

The Monday announcement came one day after 70 out of 120 parliamentarians called on Jordan’s King Abdullah II to sack him.

The government official said Awn al-Khasawneh, the deputy chief of the International Court of Justice, was the strongest candidate to replace al-Bakhit. The official insisted on anonymity because he is not allowed to make statements on changes in the government before the king endorses them.