I absolutely do not think that early parliamentary elections depend on the start of negotiations. We want and wish and demand that Macedonia start negotiations with the EU, not because of the government but because the citizens of Macedonia deserve it. On the other hand, the political crisis is so deep, the economic crisis is getting stronger, unfortunately Macedonia is also facing a national crisis. So the only solution is early parliamentary elections, especially after the government was delegitimized in the last local elections, which took place in October 2021. So, a year will pass from the local elections and that was a sufficient period of time for the government to show that it can be done otherwise, but not only did it not show that it can do otherwise, but they are going in a worse direction, said Aleksandar Nikoloski, vice president of VMRO- DPMNE in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

Nikoloski added that because of that, the only solution is early parliamentary elections.

If you want Macedonia to start negotiations with the EU, an incompetent government will lead those negotiations badly, Nikoloski stressed.

Nikoloski pointed out that the period of persuasion is over. There have been months in which the opposition has been trying to persuade the government to hold early parliamentary elections through political dialogue. But now the opposition is in a situation where the government has to be pressured to go to early parliamentary elections. That is why there is an active blockade in the Parliament, and that is why a large nationwide protest rally will take place on June 18 in front of the Government.

I expect tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of citizens to visit that nationwide protest, which will clearly express a message to the government that changes must take place in Macedonia, Nikoloski said.

He even pointed out that the government’s explanation for election expenses is inappropriate. The question is how much Macedonia loses economically from the incompetent government. There is data that says that in the period from 2019 to 2021, those are the years of rule of SDSM and DUI Macedonia has produced one million megawatt hours less electricity. If one megawatt hour on the world stock exchanges is from 250 to 260 euros at the moment, it means that 250-260 million electricity have been lost, which must be imported and those foreign currencies must go out. And because of that, the bills of the citizens have already been increased by 10%, and they will be increased by even an additional 30%. And for companies, municipalities and institutions, they have increased from 500 to 600%.