The interim Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, officially assumed office on Monday, January 29, succeeding his predecessor, Dimitar Kovačevski.
The interim Government will function for 100 days and will be mandated to organize and conduct parliamentary elections on May 8.
Following the assumption of his new duties, Xhaferi stated that he would do everything “to work in the best interest of the country and the citizens”.
He said that the technical cabinet would continue to work towards the realization of the program of Kovačevski’s outgoing Government.
“There is no doubt that the primary task of this Government is the preparation and organization of free and fair, democratic elections in an open and legal procedure directly and in cooperation with the Parliament. The Government will implement all legal prerequisites to ensure the highest European standards in the electoral campaign and their conduct based on the citizens’ will,” Xhaferi said in a media appearance alongside former Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski.
Xhaferi stated that a priority of the technical Government would also be the “implementation of policies for economic development, the preservation, and advancement of citizens’ standards”, as well as the continuation of North Macedonia’s integration process into the European Union.
“The preservation and advancement of North Macedonia’s strategic partnership with the EU, NATO, and the United States as strategic goals from the state’s independence, remain a top priority of this Government. This is also due to geopolitical developments, as the wavering or lack of a clear European orientation can be exploited by third parties to destabilize the country by extending influence here and in the region,” he said.
Part of the technical Government is also the Macedonian opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, which will lead the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and also has three deputy ministers with specific responsibilities in Xhaferi’s cabinet.
Despite being part of the Government, VMRO-DPMNE did not vote for the technical executive on Sunday, January 28.
On Monday, this party also came out with accusations against the personality of Xhaferi.
“Talat Xhaferi is synonymous with a politician and a person who is not worthy to be in this country. He is close to the world of crime and a person who has violated laws and regulations regarding the work of the Parliament while he was the Speaker of the Parliament,” said VMRO-DPMNE in their response.
This party also made accusations against the Social Democratic Union (SDSM) “for damaging Macedonian interests”.
“BDI’s faithful yesterday [Sunday] made the Macedonian people squatters in their own country and allowed a party that was not the election winner to elect the Prime Minister of the country,” VMRO said.
For the election of the executive, 65 deputies voted, three were against, and there were no abstentions.
For the Democratic Union for Integration, supporters of this party, the election of Talat Xhaferi to lead the technical Government, “is the greatest achievement of the Albanians in North Macedonia”.
