The new Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, who took office on Monday, said that his cabinet would strive for fair elections, according to the highest standards, for the welfare and dignity of North Macedonia and its citizens.
On the other hand, attacks against him and the ruling parties have continued from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE.
North Macedonia’s new Prime Minister, Talat Xhaferi, started work after a regular ceremony taking over from former Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski. The two political leaders expressed satisfaction with the ongoing cooperation, while Xhaferi later told reporters that he assumes the duties of prime minister with great responsibility and is ready for all the challenges that power may bring.
Meanwhile, even before assuming the duties of prime minister, the opposition VMRO-DPMNE issued a statement calling Xhaferi a deserter, while branding the ruling Social Democratic Union (SDSM) as a “traitorous party that handed over the state to the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI)”.
“The Social Democratic Union allowed another humiliation of the Macedonian people, just to save their seats and corrupt actions,” the reaction continues, noting that the position of the Macedonian people has been put in that of the tenant. “The BDI does not have the number of deputies or votes to have the prime minister of the state,” continues the reaction of the Macedonian opposition party.
However, VMRO-DPMNE has two ministers and three deputy ministers in Talat Xhaferi’s cabinet. Its lawmakers abstained during the vote on the technical Government on Sunday.
Analyst Seladin Xhezairi believes that VMRO will continue to disregard Xhaferi, but its ministers will not be able to avoid the obligations set by law.
“As for the opposition, to put it conditionally, ministers from the ranks of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE have been warned for days that they will not respect Xhaferi, but at the same time, according to the so-called Prespa Agreement, the competencies of opposition ministers are defined, and from this, I judge that there will be no evasion,” said Xhezairi.
Meanwhile, journalist and analyst Isen Saliu says there were not such harsh reactions because protests were announced by dissatisfied Macedonians due to the election of an Albanian prime minister.
“It is interesting that there were only discussions from the opposition as well as the fact that in their presentation, they emphasized that their opposition is primarily against Talat Xhaferi’s figure, against his party, but also stressed that they have no opposition to the Albanians. This makes me think that even Macedonian opposition parties are aware that the role of the Albanian voter will be very important in who will form the government after the May 8 elections. And for this reason, they do not want to appear with provocative stances that may alienate the Albanian voter from political entities that do not prefer cooperation with the Macedonian opposition,” said Saliu.
Talat Xhaferi became the first Albanian Prime Minister in North Macedonia. He was also the first Albanian Speaker of Parliament after the country’s independence from the Yugoslav Federation and Minister of Defense as well.
Macedonian nationalist circles have shown impatience towards him as an Albanian but also for his role as a member of the former National Liberation Army in 2001, where he came after a career as an officer in the Macedonian army. Xhaferi was also a military officer in what was known as the People’s Army of former Yugoslavia.
He has completed master’s studies in legal sciences. His collaborators appreciate him for his professionalism and principled work.
The technical Government, led by Prime Minister Xhaferi, is primarily responsible for preparing and conducting the electoral process on April 24, when the first round of presidential elections is held and on May 8, parliamentary elections along with the second round of presidential elections.
