City of Skopje Mayor Petre Silegov announced that it will finally implement its voucher program for purchase of air conditioners at the start of next week. The program was planned for the winter, as the devices were meant to help reduce air pollution from burning wood and coal for heating, but the city apparently timed it with the coming elections for maximum political impact.

Citizens are required to hand over wood or coal burning furnaces in exchange for he vouchers can go as high as 1.000 EUR. The vouchers will given on a first come first served basis, and the total program will amount to over five million EUR – a substantial pre-election giveaway.