The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski, presented his resignation, along with that of his cabinet, to the Parliament on Thursday, January 25. He has led the Government since January 11, 2022.
Kovačevski’s resignation is based on the Law on Elections and the Work of the Government, aiming to form a technical Government that will function for 100 days or until the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 8.
During the resignation submission in Parliament, Kovačevski stated that he would return to this post after the parliamentary elections on May 9.
“On May 9, the Government will be led by me again, just like the parliamentary majority, which will ensure North Macedonia’s full membership in the EU by 2030,” declared Kovačevski, who is also the leader of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM).
He mentioned that the elections on May 8 would be “a battle between political parties favoring the Western orientation of the state and those favoring a clear Eastern orientation of the country”.
The technical Government, expected to be voted on January 28, will be led by Talat Xhaferi from the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), who is also resigning from the position of the Speaker of the North Macedonian Parliament on Monday, January 26.
Jovan Mitrevski from SDSM is expected to assume the position of the Parliament Speaker on Friday, January 26, and will also prepare the session for the election of the new government.
The opposition in North Macedonia will be part of the technical Government, according to the Law on Elections, aiming to organize and conduct the electoral process.
VMRO-DPMNE will lead two ministries, Internal Affairs and Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, as well as three deputy minister positions with specific responsibilities.
The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, stated that his party remains firm in not voting for Talat Xhaferi as the Prime Minister of the technical Government.
However, the non-voting of opposition MPs does not prevent the formation of the new government since the parliamentary majority has the necessary number of 61 votes to approve the new government.
“We will be in the parliament hall, but we will abstain from voting because we believe that Talat Xhaferi does not deserve to be voted for the leadership of this government. We will not vote for him, considering his behavior, violation of the Parliament’s rules, Constitution, and many other parliamentary procedures. We believe that he cannot lead with this duty and make us proud. But he will be in this position as a result of an agreement between SDSM and BDI,” said Mickoski.
The opposition leader said that he does not expect “good things” from this government; instead, he anticipates conflicts and disputes on all issues.
“This will be a government of conflicts; it will not be a government to set goals for the work it will do. Every day there will be bickering over different things. There, we will not be able to talk about something valuable for the state,” Mickoski said.
Another change in the new government is expected in the position of the First Deputy Prime Minister. Bojan Maricikj from SDSM will replace Artan Grubi of BDI in this position. Grubi is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs.
The technical Government to be voted on January 28 will be the third in a row since the changes in the Law on the Work of the Government.
Its functioning 100 days before each electoral cycle was established in 2016 when former prime minister Nikola Gruevski was ousted from power. Gruevski is in exile in Hungary to avoid imprisonment and several legal proceedings for abuse of office and manipulation of electoral processes.
