Journalist Branko Geroski reports that SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev sent a letter members of the European Parliament asking for their support in the coming elections, and promising that he will faithfully implement the treaties he signed with Greece and Bulgaria. In the letter, Zaev also allegedly asks for international support to have VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski removed from the helm of the party and replaced with someone else, who would be more to Zaev’s liking.
Geroski cites “diplomatic sources” he says informed him of the letter. Since the Colored Revolution in 2015, Zaev has strongly relied on international support to grab and hold on to power, often from socialist and centrist members of the European Parliament.

According to Geroski, Zaev asked for urgent early elections, citing the increase in the popularity of his SDSM party, as a result of the shared sacrifice of fighting the coronavirus epidemic. Over the past several days, Zaev insists that the elections take place in June or early July, even though the virus is still spreading and many are disparagingly calling Zaev plan a “corona election”. He calls on the MEPs to help make sure that the elections are declared “clean”. “This is unusual, given that the elections are usually evaluated after they take place, not before”, notes Geroski, who has in the past published a number of reports about Zaev’s involvement in the major Racket scandal.

Much of the letter, Geroski writes, was dedicated to denigrating Mickoski and warning the members of the European Parliament that he may not implement the treaties with Greece and Bulgaria in full. This is why, Zaev allegedly insisted, he needs to be kept in office. Macedonia faces a strong push from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to make additional concessions on historic and national identity issues, and Zaev has already publicly agreed to make the concessions, but this would require pushing the elections forward, rather than go to the polls facing the backlash of the angry voters.