Macedonia Parliament Speaker Faces No Confidence Vote

Veljanovski has been accused by the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM and the New Social Democrats, NSDP for not doing enough to investigate the incident, which took place on July 1 near the opposition's office in the parliament.

“Veljanovski has chosen to be a puppet in the hands of [PM Nikola] Gruevski,” MP Emilijan Stankovic from the Social Democrats said yesterday, explaining the motion. The opposition argues that the speaker should have been more direct in trying to defend the dignity of the Parliament and pinpoint those responsible for the incident.

The SDSM has accused the police of intimidating their legislators and spying on their activities. The party says that on July 1 the police planted an agent with a weapon in front of the party's parliament office and tried to film their conversation with a group of unsatisfied workers who demanded a law that would grant them state subsidies.

The incident, partly caught on the parliament security videocamera, erupted when the opposition deputies reacted to the police presence. The camera also caught the verbal brawl, pushing and shoving in the imbroglio that followed.

Police Minister Gordana Jankulovska later confirmed that the police had officers at the scene during the brawl but accused the opposition of staging the incident in order to portray the police as unprofessional.

After receiving the motion Veljanovski canceled all other parliament sessions scheduled for this weekend and put the no confidence motion first on the agenda. He said his "integrity is at stake" so this issue must be given priority.

Asked whether the Parliament security had made mistakes, Veljanoski said this should be determined by an inquiry committee, whose main goal would be to compose a report and submit it to the Parliament.

“I urge an inquiry committee to be formed with consensus,” the Speaker said.

Veljanovski claimed he took a series of measures in the aftermath of the incident. He said he already advised police officials to take better care and honor the dignity and independence of he parliament.

The motion filed by the opposition has a very slim chance of success as the ruling centre right VMRO DPMNE party, which counts Veljanovski as a member, said it will not back the motion. The opposition needs at least 61 votes in the 120 seat parliament to topple Veljanovski and VMRO DPMNE controls over half of those seats.