In a Sunday session, Parliament voted 65 in favor and 3 against, electing the caretaker Government under the leadership of Talat Xhaferi. Of the 111 attending MPs, VMRO-DPMNE’s members abstained from voting. The primary focus of the caretaker Government is to ensure the conduct of fair and democratic parliamentary elections.

Following the vote, Prime Minister Xhaferi and the appointed ministers were sworn in. Bojan Marichikj will serve as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for European affairs, while Artan Grubi will assume the role of Minister of Political System and Inter-Community Relations.

VMRO-DPMNE’s Panche Toshkovski is designated as the Minister of Interior, and Gjoko Velkovski will hold the position of Minister of Labor and Social Policy.

Several ministers from SDSM, DUI, and the Alliance for Albanians will retain their current roles, including Justice Minister Krenar Lloga, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi, and others.

A subsequent Parliament session is anticipated for the vote on additional deputy ministers and the verification of the mandate for an MP to replace Talat Xhaferi.

Proposed candidates for additional deputy ministers include Mitko Bojmacliev and Jovanka Trenchevska from SDSM, and Elena Petrova, Stefan Andonovski, and Cvetan Tripunovski from VMRO-DPMNE.

The transitional government is set to lead the country for 100 days until the general elections on May 8, remaining in power until the election of a new government. This marks the third transitional or caretaker government since 2016, with Emil Dimitriev leading in 2016 and Oliver Spasovski in 2020.