A curious issue that could affect the formation of the next Government was raised by the state Anti-Corruption Commission (DKSK) yesterday. DKSK head Biljana Ivanovska said that it will be a conflict of interest if member of Parliament Florin Besimi votes to elect the next Government because it is expected to include his brother Fatmir Besimi as Finance Minister.

A member of Parliament is elected by the people, but he can’t participate in the appointment of his brother to office. Florin Besimi needs to recuse himself from the election of a Government where his brother would sit, Ivanovska said.

The SDSM – DUI – BESA – DPA coalition has just 62 votes in Parliament, only one above the bare minimum needed to elect a Government. It already faced a messy dispute in DUI where local branches are refusing to support their own party’s candidates coming from other, competing branches. Losing Florin Besimi’s vote could endanger the entire process.

The coalition was able to elect a new Speaker of the Parliament – Talat Xhaferi – with 62 votes. This is the first step meant to show that there is a working majority in Parliament. But the vote was postponed a day due to the infighting in DUI, and with it the vote on the Government was delayed, presumably for next week.