The leaders of the two biggest political parties in North Macedonia, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, Zoran Zaev and Hristijan Mickoski, have finally managed to reach an agreement regarding the date of the parliamentary elections. The voting will take place on the 15th of July. In a press conference Zaev said that the state and the people have to be saved from any kind of risk from additional worsening of the situation and that with an interim government and without a Parliament, a bigger crisis could not be avoided.
-I know that each citizen is fed up with party games and the negotiations on the election date, but it is high time we cleared this out. In order to avoid the situation when the people will still be suffering with this and to allow Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE to show their responsibility, we agreed on 15th of July as the final and only date for elections in which the opposition will most certainly participate. I inform the public that I had talks with Mickoski again today and he confirmed he will participate at the elections on the 15th of July – said Zaev.
He announced that 15th of July, which is on Wednesday, will be a non-working day for all citizens and they will be able to cast their votes until 21 h. On Monday and Tuesday, the elderly and the people with health issues, including those positive to coronavirus, will cast their votes.
VMRO-DPMNE’s President, Hristijan Mickoski wrote on his Facebook profile that the party will participate in the elections on the 15th of July and together with the people it will win over the source of the crisis, Zoran Zaev and SDSM.
-Both conditions we asked for were accepted. We asked for healthcare protocols and protection of people’s health and secondly a mission by OSCE and ODIHR to be deployed in order to protect the will of the people – wrote Mickoski.
