Latvian President Valdis Zatlers lost his bid for a second term Thursday to rival Andris Berzins, an ex-banker, just days after he demanded a snap general election to root out corruption.

Latvia's head of state is elected by the Baltic nation's 100-member parliament, where Zatlers received 41 votes to Berzins' 53 in a secret ballot, an official count showed.

Berzins hailed MPs for their support, in the wake of an unprecedented clash between Zatlers and the chamber.

"I hope that in the future we will be able to cooperate much more, thanks to you," he said.

Zatlers' call for "radical action" to end the clout of "oligarchs" had added spice to the vote, already scheduled before he moved to dissolve parliament on Saturday.

Zatlers, 56, had acknowledged Saturday that he may have sunk his re-election chances. As Thursday's vote loomed, he had told AFP he had no regrets.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis' centre-right Unity bloc backed Zatlers, who struck a chord in this Baltic nation of 2.2 million amid a biting austerity drive.

"The majority in parliament has not respected the public demand for a policy that is free of the oligarchs' influence and has punished Valdis Zatlers for his courage," he said in a statement.

Earlier, Dombrovskis compared the non-partisan Zatlers -- who gave up a medical career to become president in 2007 -- to a "surgeon who needs to perform an unpleasant but urgent operation".

Other MPs were less flattering.

Sergejs Mirskis, of the left-leaning, pro-Russian opposition Harmony Centre, said Zatlers had "spat in the eye" of the public by seeking to dissolve parliament.

The presidential vote split Latvia's government -- Berzins, 66, was nominated by Dombrovskis' coalition partner the Greens and Farmers Alliance.

Since 2007 Zatlers repeatedly urged MPs to restore the public's faith in politicians.

He demanded the snap election after MPs last week hampered an anti-corruption probe of lawmaker Ainars Slesers, one of Latvia's richest men, by refusing to waive his immunity.

Slesers heads the pro-business opposition For A Good Latvia movement, whose other leader Andris Skele is also under investigation.

Greens kingpin Aivars Lembergs is likewise being probed.

Slesers Thursday accused Zatlers of "double standards" for allegedly only taking a stand in the dying days of his presidency.

Zatlers was himself spotlighted in 2007 for his admission that he accepted "gifts" as a doctor.

Zatlers' mandate ends on July 7.

His loss of office will not halt the dissolution process, however.

Voters are expected to approve his decision in a July 23 referendum required under the constitution, triggering a snap election in September.

Latvians last voted in October 2010, handing a new mandate to Dombrovskis to form the country's 16th government since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Analysts say renewed political wrangling is unlikely to have major economic impact in Latvia.

In 2008 Latvia was forced to seek a 7.5-billion-euro ($10.7-billion) bailout after its overheated economy went bust.

Output shrank by 18 percent in 2009 and, despite green shoots, unemployment is still almost 17 percent.

Zatlers, who regularly urged the nation to stand united during the economic crisis, on Saturday said horsetrading MPs had failed the people, who have borne the brunt of the austerity drive.

Berzins will become Latvia's fourth president since 1991.

Zatlers succeeded the widely-popular, plain-speaking Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who during two her two terms won national and international respect and steered Latvia into the European Union and NATO in 2004.