The suspense around the calling the elections this past week again rose the temperature among the Macedonian political public to fever pitch. The former Prime Minister and President of SDSM, Zoran Zaev, announced that it is possible for the early parliamentary elections to be postponed and the biggest opposition party stroke back with an initiative for dissolving the Parliament.
The possibility for postponing the date when the Parliament is going to be dissolved (the official calling of election) was thrown on the table by Zaev when he was testifying during the Monster case when he stated that “if the opposition blocks the Parliament’s debate about the Law on Public Prosecution and if it isn’t adopted by 12th of February, the elections and the dissolving of the Parliament will be postponed”. But he also explained that the election date hasn’t been jeopardized, as they are called 40 to 60 days before election day takes place.
Zaev announced his position when the opposition announced a new condition for the Law on Public Prosecution. Apparently, even though on Monday there were supposed to be meetings between parliamentary groups in order for the content of the Law on Public Prosecution to be determined, the meeting didn’t take place due to the absence of representatives of VMRO-DPMNE’s working group. In the meantime, VMRO-DPMNE’s party leader Hristijan Mickoski gave a statement where they will provide support for a law that was prepared by experts.
While the opposition insists on a team of 6 distinguished professors to put together the new Law on Public Prosecution, the authorities are categorically against. The former Prime Minister Zaev said that there is no time to create a new law since Europe is waiting for the results to be delivered. He is hooping that 80 MPs will be secured as this is the number necessary for the law to pass and there are intense negotiations mostly with MPS that were expelled from VMRO-DPMNE.
On the other hand, VMRO-DPMNE has filed an initiative for the Parliament to dissolve on the 12th of February. Mickoski has called upon all parties to give their support for the Parliament to dissolve.
The first support upon VMRO-DPMNE’s proposal arrived from the Alliance of the Albanians.
For SDSM, VMRO-DPMNE’s proposal for dissolving of the Parliament represents a bluff in order to avoid the adoption of the Law on Prosecution. Whether SDSM will vote upon the proposal, according to SDSM’s coordinator, Jovan Mitreski, mostly depends on whether what the outcome for the Law on Prosecution will be.
Talat Xhaferri has indicated the date 12th of February as more optimal date to dissolve the Parliament, and these days he said that he remains firm on his stance and if necessary he will propose it himself.
In order for the Parliament to dissolve , 61 votes is necessary, which theoretically could be secured even without the biggest ruling party. After the Parliament is dissolved, Xhaferri will have to call the elections. From that moment, the deadlines will start for the implementation of the election activities.
