Zoran Zaev acknowledged that a defeat for his SDSM party at the local elections in October could spark early election – which is the position of the VMRO-DPMNE party. In a Sitel TV interview, Zaev insisted that SDSM will win the elections, but left open the possibility that his Government will go down in case of defeat.

We can’t discount early general elections if the citizens show us that they disagree with our policies, Zaev said.

Zaev’s Government clings to power with just 62 votes – out of 120 in the Parliament, and it’s expected that a rebuke in the local elections could prompt some of his coalition partners to desert him.