The key political parties agreed with the proposal from VMRO-DPMNE to alter the electoral code and to abolish the legal requirement that a technical Government is formed 100 days before general elections, with the opposition taking over several important departments. VMRO formally submitted the proposal to Parliament yesterday, announcing that it is ready to relinquish this pre-election advantage if it will help lead to early elections as soon as possible.

The ruling SDSM party said that the proposal from VMRO is a welcome sign that Macedonia is sufficiently democratic to ensure fair elections. Jovan Mitrevski from SDSM said that this request needs to be agreed between all key political parties.

A similar response came from SDSM’s coalition partner DUI. Both SDSM and DUI oppose the idea that this proposal leads to early elections, with Mitrevski saying that the issue is not a priority since the next elections are due in 2024.

The Besa party, which recently left the SDSM – DUI coalition, said that it supports VMRO’s proposal, insisting that Macedonia is in an unstable condition and the ruling majority has no capacity to lead the country and its institutions.