Prime Minister Zoran Zaev confirmed that a number of his advisers have resigned, including Mersel Bilali and Lence Nikolovska.

They were among my first collaborators and we continue to work together. There was some criticism that I have too many advisers, even though I had a third of those with Gruevski. And now we have a completely different society and they are allocating themselves where they can contribute in the private sector, Zaev said.

He confirmed that Bilali resigned because he is working get a public sector job for his daughter, and his continued appointment in Zaev’s office could hinder that. Meanwhile Lence Nikolovska, who was once an adviser to imprisoned media mogul Velija Ramkovski as he was trying to style himself an agricultural tribune, will start a new farming oriented media project. The news was received in the public as advisers jumping ship as Zaev faces uncertain chances at the coming April 2020 general elections.