Macedonia Parliament Mulls Dissolution Motion

The opposition Social Democrats, together with their coalition partners, control only some 30 seats in the 120-seat Parliament, and the measure is expected to be rejected by the ruling coaltion.

The ruling VMRO DPMNE, which has two more years remaining in its mandate, previously said it would not support the motion because snap polls are not in the best interest of the country. The party controls more than half of the Parliament seats.

“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 this weekend.

The junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, has also opted against snap polls, arguing that they would be not be helpful because the election outcome would be the same.

The head of the opposition, Branko Crvenkovski, said on Saturday that they will 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.