Skopje, 2 November 2023 (MIA) - The draft law on amnesty vote should not affect the coalition with Alliance for Albanians, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said on Thursday after Parliament rejected the motion to adopt the law in a fast-track procedure.

PM Kovachevski told reporters that the entire procedure was legitimate and everybody was able to exercise their democratic right to vote.

"Government made a decision and gave the Minister of Justice an opportunity to present the law on amnesty before MPs. However, MPs have a sovereign right to vote in their name and in the name of citizens on any piece of legislation. I believe that the procedure was legitimate and think this should not affect the relationship with the coalition, given that everybody was able to use their democratic right to express their arguments, and those with the right to vote were able to vote at the parliamentary session," Kovachevski said.

He explained that when the amnesty law was proposed, there were different views regarding its effects. The intention was to free up prisons from overcrowding, and Justice Minister Krenar Lloga proposed that be done through an amnesty law.

"On the other hand, there were augments that stated the opposite, that the previous amnesty law did not produce the desired effects, considering that the largest number of those who had been given amnesty soon afterwards perpetrated similar crimes and went back to prison. And secondly, that 2,000 sentenced persons are waiting to serve a prison term, which will not relieve prisons. In addition, parole, probation and other measures that can be used to open room in prisons were also listed as options," Kovachevski pointed out. ssh/ik/