Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said that he accepts the decision to have him removed as SDSM party deputy leader, along with five other deputies. The move was made on Sunday evening, after Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called for a purge of the most corrupt and incompetent official which cost the party a large portion of its votes.

It is up to the leader of the party to decide who he will nominate to the post, but it is not important for me. It is important that we agreed that we must change, must reinforce the structure of the party. Immediately after the presidential elections we conducted an analysis in order to better prepare for the next general elections, Spasovski said.

His Kumanovo based wing of the party suffered badly in Sunday’s purge, along with officials close to Radmila Sekerinska, whose power-base is in the capital Skopje.

Against this backdrop, Zaev seems to be reinforcing his own positions with loyalists, including from his Strumica bastion.

Spasovski also wouldn’t reveal if he expects to be removed as Interior Minister, a position he used to engage in a campaign of political persecution of the opposition.

He was at a press event with Transportation Minister Goran Sugareski, another officials whose position is in danger, reportedly because Zaev wants to elevate one of his brother’s business partners. Sugareski said he has full trust in the Prime Minister and will respect any decision he makes.