Three months ahead of the elections, the spate of public sector hiring is not slowing down. Currently there are 30 open ads, and new are added every day, in a process which the opposition claims is meant to land comfy jobs for members of the ruling SDSM party.

Public Administration Minister Damjan Mancevski defended the practice, insisting that it is not out of the ordinary.

We always have open ads, regardless whether we are in a pre-election period or not. Legally we have not yet entered the campaign period, Mancevski said.

Mancevski also defended the practice of hiring close relatives of top SDSM party officials, claiming, in essence, that “it is their turn”.