Macedonia MPs Reject Early Elections Motion

In the 120-seat parliament, 64 MPs voted against the motion, while 29 voted in favour. The Social Democrats and the Liberal Democrats were the only parties who supported the proposal. The ruling VMRO DPMNE, meanwhile, maintained that early elections would be against the interests of the country.

The VMRO DPMNE, which has two years remaining in its mandate, previously said the government must focus on enacting reforms and not waste energy on snap elections. The party controls more than half of the seats in Parliament.

“We must focus on reforms, the fight against corruption and on tackling the consequences of the global financial crisis,” Prime Minister and party leader Nikola Gruevski told media at the weekend.

The head of the opposition, Branko Crvenkovski, said on Saturday that they would continue their fight for early elections.

“We will continue to step up the pressure. We will do this through all legal means and through the institutions but also using other methods of organised resistance,” Crvenkovski said.