Macedonia Announces Date of Parliament Dissolution

Yesterday, the Macedonian Assembly adopted amendments to the resolution on dissolving the parliament from January 18, 2016. 83 people voted for the amendments while only three voted against with no abstentions. The MP’s of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia did not vote. The new amendment calls for parliament to be dissolved on April 7 and new elections to be held on June 5, 2016.

US and EU Intervention

On Monday, February 22, the US and the EU said that Macedonia should not hold elections scheduled for April 24, as the country was deemed unprepared and manipulation seemed to be very likely. This statement seems rather strange since the West usually supports rapid re-elections as it did in Ukraine, which is 20 times bigger than Macedonia in terms of territory and population.

Two Further Factors

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski believes that if elections are not held in April, then the country will return to its normal political regime and parliamentary elections will be held in 2019. It is obvious that this option is practically impossible given the strong external pressure and resistance by the liberal opposition that currently faces the political leadership of Macedonia.

If the opposition will gain power, liberal reforms will be launched in the country. One can expect the Albanian minority to gain more rights, including secession, which would be a practical step towards realizing the Greater Albania project. In addition, the West is interested in settling more than one million refugees from the Middle East and North Africa in Macedonia.

Blackmail is to Continue

Opposition leader Zoran Zaev, who has a criminal record, possess more than 1.5 million telephone conversations and files of the government and the ruling party members which he received from the US Embassy in Skopje. Gruevski’s Party is gradually losing its position in the structures of power, and thus might turn to blackmail. In addition, Zaev’s party works closely with Albanian parties and receives financial support from George Soros.

Macedonia
Elections
crisis