There is authoritarianism in the Republic of Macedonia, and you can recognize it under the title of Zaevism, said VMRO-DPMNE presidential nominee Gordana Siljanovska during a meeting with supporters in the Sopiste area of Skopje. Siljanovska spoke of the series of arrests and attacks on opposition officials and the abuse of the judiciary in the Government’s assault on the opposition.

There are analyses being made about the Western Balkans, in an attempt to determine whether democracy works in the region, including in Macedonia, and the result is the same – there is no trace of democracy here, we are under authoritarianism. In Macedonia, this authoritarianism is known as Zaevism. That doesn’t mean just the concentration of all power in one person or one group. It means much more, that the division of power, into a legislative, executive and judicial branch, has been abolished, Siljanovska said.

The law professor accused Zaev of extending his power into the realms left directly under the purview of other branches, especially of taking over the prerogatives of President Ivanov when Zaev had his Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov sign the Prespa treaty instead of Ivanov.

The President has been completely sidelined, even in capacities which used to belong solely to him, such as the signing of international treaties, Siljanovska said.

The professor is an outspoken critic of the Prespa treaty, under which Macedonia was renamed into North Macedonia. She is faced against Zaev’s presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski in the elections scheduled for April 21st and May 5th.