Leader of North Macedonia’s opposition party VMRO DPMNE Hristijan Mickoski has called for early elections as a solution to the dire political situation, suggesting two dates in mid-May.
One of the key issues dividing the country is the requirement for changes to the constitution in order to open EU accession negotiations. In July, Bulgaria lifted its veto on the country’s EU path, conditioned on a number of points including the inclusion of Bulgarians as an ethnic minority in the constitution. To make such a change, a two-thirds parliamentary majority is required, something which is not possible currently.
Mickoski said that changing the constitution “will not put an end to the Bulgarian demands to destroy the Macedonian identity.”
VMRO-DPMNE was against the French-drafted compromise which helped put an end to the Bulgarian veto, and while also organising a number of boisterous protestes.
On the subject of the political tensions, he said, “The situation in the country is unbearable, but also within the parties in power, especially SDSM, DUI and Alternative. A system reset is required.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said earlier this week that the government will step up consultations with parliamentarians to ensure a two-thirds majority can be reached. Without the changes being made, North Macedonia will remain in the EU waiting room.
General elections are scheduled for 2024 and holding them this year could be problematic as the country has just assumed the presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which it will hold for one year.
In December, President Stevo Pendarovski said that the situation in North Macedonia is at a critical point because citizens’ are losing trust in both local institutions and the EU. He called for action to clear the way for opening membership negotiation chapters.
“The very content of the concrete proposal, the inclusion of Bulgarians and other nations in the Constitution, in no way harms the Macedonian identity. Those who are against it today, if they really believe that the European Union is our strategic goal, how will they vote for this constitutional change when they are in power?” Pedarovski said.
On the subject of state institutions, he called them weak and said they are plagued with corruption.
“When clientelism and party loyalty are criteria for employment and career advancement, the weakness of institutions should not be surprising. The political and physical blockades that we are seeing in the capital in recent months will certainly not be the last,” he added.
Pendarovski also stated that the Western Balkans should not just be of importance to the EU when there are wars and migrant crises.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
