President Stevo Pendarovski said that he will address the public after Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi said that the will not call the Parliament to convene to declare a state of emergency.
All major parties called on Pendarovski and the Parliament to declare a state of emergency today, given the spread of the coronavirus. This will allow the Government to adopt acts as if they are laws, and to curb civil rights.

Xhaferi informed the public that the Parliament can’t reconvene once it was dissolved and that he will simply forward the proposal from the Government to the President. Under the Constitution, the state of emergency is declared by the Parliament, and if the Parliament can’t convene, then it is declared by the President. The Parliament was dissolved in February to make way for elections which are expected to be postponed.

I’m currently informed that the Government is preparing a proposal to declare a state of emergency which will be sent to the Parliament. If the Parliament doesn’t convene, the Speaker of the Parliament will forward the proposal to me, and I will address the public, Pendarovski tweeted.

On Sunday Pendarovski held the Security Council and refused to declare a state of emergency, or a broader crisis situation, deeming the response of the Government sufficient.