BUCHAREST, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Romania's parliament on Monday rejected a no-confidence motion against the government of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan after it failed to secure the required majority in a joint session.

The motion, titled "Romania is not for sale - without progressives in government," received 139 votes in favor and two against out of 141 votes cast. Although 420 deputies and senators were present from a total of 463 lawmakers, the motion fell well short of the 232 votes needed for adoption.

The motion was initiated by Senator Ninel Peia and supported by lawmakers from the PACE-First Romania group, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), and several independent parliamentarians.

It accused the Bolojan-led government of mismanaging key sectors, including public finances, healthcare, education, social protection, justice, and public administration.

Addressing parliament during the debate, Bolojan defended his government, saying Romania had risked losing the confidence of financial markets when he took office six months ago.

"We avoided that scenario through measures that have begun to rebalance the economy and curb the deficit," Bolojan said, citing improved budget revenues, a reduced deficit compared with last year, and renewed investor confidence reflected in lower borrowing costs.

Bolojan also said the government would not introduce new tax increases next year, adding that it would focus on improving tax collection, combating evasion and attracting European funds.

The prime minister criticized the authors of the motion, saying they promoted "chaos and scandal" rather than offering viable solutions. Enditem