Even though the constitutionally provided period of 60 days ahead of the elections begins today, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi refused to put the proposal to dissolve the Parliament to a vote. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party made the motion, insisting that the Parliament must dissolve today in order to meet the deadlines for organizing elections on April 12.

But under pressure from the ruling SDSM party, which demands that a law on state prosecutors is adopted by this Parliament, Xhaferi said that he will give five more days to SDSM. Xhaferi said that he will ensure that the State Electoral Commission has 55 days to organize the elections, implying that the vote to dissolve the Parliament may be held over the weekend. Just days ago, Xhaferi was warning that cutting short the period of 60 days that is provided in the Constitution may result with failed elections, if any of the numerous steps required to take to register candidates and vet the electoral rolls goes badly.

VMRO-DPMNE refused to vote for the draft law on state prosecutors, insisting that it is made to protect SDSM leader Zoran Zaev from facing responsibility in the numerous corruption scandals against him as it will entrench SDSM loyalists as prosecutors in the near future. VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski said that the party sees no further reason to participate in the work of the Parliament, leaving Zaev to try to bargain for the necessary 81 votes by bribing independent members of Parliament or the smaller ethnic Albanian parties in the coming few days.