Zoran Zaev and Ali Ahmeti announced today that they are unilaterally dismantling the 100 days rule, which provided key guarantees to the opposition party that it can prevent the worst abuses of Government by the ruling party. The rule was introduced in 2016, on request from Zaev and his SDSM party, under strong international pressure.

It provided for a resignation from then VMRO leader Hristijan Mickoski and the inclusion of opposition SDSM officials in some key Government departments such as the Interior Ministry and the Labour and Welfare Ministry – the latter often being used to bribe voters with politically driven welfare spending. The arrangement is also known as the “Przino Government”, for the Skopje district where EU official Johannes Hahn officiated over talks with VMRO and SDSM.

The rule was partially respected in the chaotic 2020 elections where the roles were reversed – SDSM removed the VMRO appointed Labour and Welfare Minister Rasela Mizrahi after subjecting her to a torrent of anti-Semitic abuse, but VMRO did lead the Interior Ministry and had deputy ministers in several other departments.

But today Zaev said that the rule will be revoked, and instead an ethnic Albanian Prime Minister will be named for the final 100 days ahead of the next elections.

SDSM and DUI, who hope to hold the slimmest possible majority in Parliament, did not consult the other parties for this dramatic change.