Skopje, 27 February 2023 (MIA) – Many consider an election year to be a lost year, so we worked to avoid early elections during this term, said Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs Bojan Marichikj on Monday, adding that they are working to establish a “European Front” which would work to secure the European future of the country and form a government after the next elections.

Commenting on VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski’s request for early elections, in a TV interview Marichikj said that it is the only option for political action of the opposition leader, intended for intra-party use.

“Mickoski’s constant statements that there is no majority and that there will be no new majority or there will be early elections, is actually just empty rhetoric meant to keep his supporters together and give them hope for snap elections. He himself is aware and refuted his own statement, saying that he never claimed that there will be early elections, while that is the only topic they are discussing in Parliament,” said Marichikj, adding that the next parliamentary elections will be regular elections, held in the middle of 2024.

Marichikj said that the establishment of a “European Front” is aimed at accelerating the Euro-integration process and carrying out the necessary constitutional amendments.

“Our goal is for all political actors who support the European path to come together on one side, and I am certain that it is a majority that will lead us to form a new government after the next elections as well. That is not a European front aimed against anyone, it is a European front aimed at securing the country’s European future. I believe that you can’t, like VMRO-DPMNE, say that you are nominally in favor of EU membership, however when it comes to supporting important, difficult political decisions, then they are never really in favor,” said Marichikj.

He added that in several instances VMRO-DPMNE representatives told ambassadors that they will amend the Constitution when they come to power.

Marichikj noted that if the amendments are acceptable for VMRO-DPMNE, they can adopt the amendments and then hold early elections, reminding that Prime Minister Kovachevski has proposed this publicly as well.

The Deputy PM announced the holding of open dialogue with all parties and said he expects this process to begin after the government reshuffle is completed in Parliament.

“I think we will reach a reasonable conclusion that there is nothing anti-Macedonian within the constitutional amendments,” said Marichikj, adding that the country has undertaken the commitment to add the Bulgarians to the Constitution while the screening process is underway, i.e., until November.

If we do not adopt the amendments by November, added Marichikj, we will veto our own EU membership by ourselves and fall into the group of countries like Kosovo or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He assessed that the gap between SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE is not as big as recently published polls indicate.

“The difference between VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM is not as significant as in the published polls. Besides, the ratings of these parties are not the only factors. The majority is the ‘European Front’ and we will form a government after the next elections,” stressed Marichikj. ad/sk/

Photo: MIA Archive