The BESA party denied claims from Zoran Zaev that they are still part of his coalition. BESA announced that it is leaving the Government, and its officials in the Government, including Agriculture Minister Arijanit Hoxha, submitted their resignation, and one of their three members of Parliament – Kastriot Rexhepi – was dismissed from the party after he was apparently pressured not to cast a vote of no confidence in Zaev last week.

But, desperate to cobble together some kind of majority without their votes, Zaev today, in a statement given to “Sloboden Pecat”, insisted that BESA is formally still in the coalition. He said that the Parliament still hasn’t processed Hoxha’s resignation, and that he still considers BESA part of his team – even as he’s trying to replace them in the coalition with the Alternative Party that has four votes in Parliament.

The position of BESA remains that this Government needs to fall. The moment the Government falls, I expect that a far more stable new majority will be formed. The party organs of BESA decided that we go to the opposition, and I have full trust in our remaining two members of Parliament, as I had faith in the third one, said BESA leader Bilal Kasami.

He left the coalition after several bitter local elections fights with Zaev’s bigger coalition partner DUI, especially the fight over the city hall in Tetovo, which Kasami won.