Skopje, 26 November 2021 (MIA) — SDSM has started its session during which the party's central board members are considering the party leader Zoran Zaev's resignation, the current political situation, and welcoming potential new ruling coalition partners. According to SDSM’s executive board member Muhamed Zeqiri ahead of the session, the majority will decide whether the party accepts his resignation. If so, Zeqiri said, SDSM would then open a procedure for electing a new party leader. SDSM Vice President Sanja Lukarevska said the party leadership would be discussing their next steps as well as the parliamentary majority and latest political developments. “We will discuss these topics at the Executive and the Central Board sessions because both sessions were scheduled at his [Zaev's] request,” Lukarevska said. If Zaev’s resignation is confirmed, a procedure will launched to elect a new SDSM leader. According to the statute of the party, a 15-day deadline is then in place to schedule the intra-party election. The new party leader, as Zaev has said, will also be the new PM-designate. Some SDSM members don’t back Zaev’s resignation, which was announced after the party got poor results in the local elections. In the meantime, activities have been underway to increase the ruling coalition's parliamentary majority after the opposition's failed no-confidence vote against the Zaev-led Government. In addition, Alternativa’s leadership is also meeting on Friday to decide if the party would accept Zaev’s offer for them to join the ruling coalition. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the session was postponed until Friday evening after the Government declared three days of national mourning for the tragic bus accident in Bulgaria. nn/mr/