Once Parliament officially scheduled a plenary session for Thursday (October 13), it became clear that MPs and Parliament would not dissolve on Wednesday (October 12).
As reported by “Meta”, the first reason is that the parliamentary debate on the budget for 2017 is still not finished. The document is still under review by parliamentary committees, then, once again the matter will be returned to a session of the government, and put on the agenda of the plenary session, which will need to be reviewed for at least five days.
The dissolution of Parliament has likely been put on hold, until Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, arrives on October 14, for his visit to Macedonia.
According to reports, Hahn in Skopje will meet with the leaders of the main political parties, Special Prosecutor, Katica Janeva, and representatives from the civil sector.
Information on Hahn’s visit came after the ruling majority in Parliament did not support the requests made by the Special Public Prosecutor for amendments to the Law on the SPO, which is an extension for deadlines in investigations, and amendments on the Law on Witness Protection.
The European Commissioner, who helped mediate the Pržino Agreement, is expected during his visit to discuss the obstructions against the SPO, preparations for elections and the dissolution of Parliament.
Also, for Parliament to dissolve an MP or parliamentary group needs to file a motion for the dissolution, so the President of Parliament can put it on the agenda.
MP Pavle Trajanov, who last week submitted two laws through a regular parliamentary procedure, says Parliament can dissolve no later than October 27.
“Regarding the time-frame, I can say that Parliament is talking more and more that the dissolution will not take place on October 12, but sometime October 27 the latest. The reason for this, is the submitted budget proposal for 2017, which, if Parliament was to dissolve on October 12, the proposal will not be able to pass the parliamentary procedure”, said Trajanov.
On Thursday, at the plenary parliamentary session more items have been scheduled on the agenda, including the proposal for the continuation of the ‘crisis situation’ on the southern and northern border due to the migrant crisis. If the proposal is adopted, instead of December 31 this year, the ‘crisis situation’ will last until June 30, 2017.
At the session, a draft law amending the Law on Internal Affairs shall also be discussed, by fast-track procedure, the proposal for the appointment of the Judicial Council of Republic of Macedonia etc..
According to what the parties outlined in the Pržino Agreement, Parliament is meant to dissolve 45 to 60 days before Election Day.
For now, elections are expected to be held on December 11, this year.
