The technical Government of North Macedonia is expected to undergo changes on Friday, ten days after its vote in Parliament on January 28.

The technical Prime Minister, Talat Xhaferi, has submitted a request to Parliament for the dismissal of the Minister of Health, Fatmir Mexhiti, and the Minister of Administration and Information Society, Azir Aliu.

In their place, he has proposed Ilir Demiri for the Minister of Health and Naim Bajrami for the Minister of Administration and Information Society.

The Parliament session for the dismissal of the old ministers and the appointment of new ones has been scheduled for Friday by the Speaker of the Parliament, Jovan Mitrevski.

The decision of Prime Minister Talat Xhaferi follows a request from a party commission of the Alliance for Albanians (ASH), which is part of the technical Government, which proposed the dismissal of two of its ministers.

The decision was made due to, as stated, “actions contrary to the Code of Ethics, including blackmail and pressure on members of the ASH, as well as meetings with VMRO-DPMNE”.

However, according to ministers Fatmir Mexhiti and Azir Aliu, the proposal for dismissal was made because of their position after the party chairman, Arben Taravari, announced on February 3 the decision to switch to the Albanian opposition bloc – the European Alliance for Change.

Taravari said he made the decision “after consultations for several weeks and after deep reflection that it is time for change, which the people demand to free the system from the corruption epidemic, as a barrier to the well-being and development of Albanians in North Macedonia”.

He demanded that his decision be supported by the party, but the chairman of the parliamentary party, Ziadin Sela, and his supporters opposed it, insisting that the ASH should run alone in the elections, while procedures have begun for the dismissal of ministers and all its directors in institutions.

The current Minister of Administration and Information Society, Azir Aliu, stated that the request for his dismissal from the ministerial post is “illegal”.

“Our dismissal request is not legitimate because, according to the party’s statute, the commission that came up with the proposal cannot approve decisions for the appointment or dismissal of ministers. Our work is transparent and with concrete results, so there is no reason for dismissal,” Aliu said.

According to him, the dismissals being sought by the part of the party that is against the unification of the opposition are being supported by the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI).

He specifically accused the Deputy Prime Minister from the ranks of the BDI, Artan Grubi, who, according to him, has also taken on “the role of the Prime Minister”, by deciding on the agendas and the dismissal of all directors who have aligned themselves with the Chairman of the Alliance for Albanians, Arben Taravari.

Fatmir Mexhiti, the current Minister of Health, said that the request for his dismissal is a “manifestation of fear” of the change that, according to him, will occur in the parliamentary elections, on May 8.

“This does not scare us because we will continue much stronger. Minister Aliu and I guarantee you, we will be ministers even in the next government cabinet. Change has begun, and the people are with us. On May 8, we will celebrate together,” said Mexhiti, also accusing the BDI as a participant in the developments in the ASH.

BDI has not commented on such accusations, nor on the developments in the Alliance for Albanians party.

Former Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, chairman of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), said on Thursday that the party he leads will support the proposal to dismiss these two ministers.

“The Parliamentary Group of the SDSM will vote based on the Government’s proposal, but also based on the position that the Alliance for Albanians will have. If a party, which is part of the Government, seeks to replace its ministers, then it is normal to have a decision in Parliament. This has happened before when parties that were part of the Government sought the replacement of their cadres,” Kovačevski said.

He added that he does not believe that the technical Government is being “endangered”, even though, as he said, it is a “global phenomenon” to have dismissals and appointments in a technical government which has a mandate to organize and conduct presidential and parliamentary elections, to be held on April 24 and May 8.