In response to a request from SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev that elections are held in June, opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski said that recommendations from the Venice Commission propose that elections are held no sooner than two months after a state of emergency has been lifted. The Commission has examined the constitutions of a number of countries that provide for holding elections after a state of emergency, and has recommended to allow for two months so that a sense of normalcy returns and citizens can vote after an actual campaign, without feeling pressured.

I refuse to bargain over this issue. We need to hear from healthcare officials first, from doctors who can estimate the risks to voters, and then we can determine the date for the next elections. We also need to hear from the head of the State Electoral Commission, who knows best how long he needs to prepare early elections. There is the opinion of the Venice Commission, that recommends giving 60 days before the state of emergency has been lifted to hold elections. We want to have elections this summer and we want to have elections that won’t endanger lives, Mickoski said.

The state of emergency expires in mid May. Party leaders are expected to meet early next week to discuss what happens next, given that Macedonia doesn’t have an active Parliament and the Government rules through decrees, under a state of emergency that has been extended in violation of the Constitution. The ruling SDSM party and its leader Zoran Zaev demand elections in June, just weeks after the state of emergency is lifted, apparently thinking that the more they wait, the more they will suffer in the polls given the declining economy.

We need to be serious and see when we can hold truly fair and democratic elections that will allow all participants to present their positions before the voters, bearing in mind the health of the voters, Mickoski said.