The technical government was the result of negotiations and came from what we heard in the 2015 ‘bombs’ that state institutions were abused for election purposes. If that was the reason, now I am glad to see that the opposition’s request shows this government is able to organize fair and democratic elections, says SDSM vicepresident Stefan Bogoev.

He adds that the changes to the Electoral Code must come through broader talks and consensus, and not arbitrarily as VMRO-DPMNE wants.

– The manner and timing of this of VMRO-DPMNE’s request is disputable for us. Faced with the failure of their mayors, they rush to have early elections. We need to talk to the coalition parties, but also to the smaller parties about whether there is a need for a technical government at all. The issue of one constituency was raised and these are segments of the Electoral Code and we have time until 2024 to open these issues, says Bogoev.

However, smaller parties said they give six months to the government. In the parliament, this government depends on several smaller partners, and VMRO-DPMNE is in a hurry for elections and is trying to take advantage of the situation.

– We are ready for changes in the Electoral Code, but others should be prepared for the elections to be legitimate, says Bogoev.

If the process of lifting the Bulgarian veto progresses in the next six months, there is a possibility of holding early elections in order to reach a consensus with the bilateral agreement.

– We hear one thing about the topic with Bulgaria in public, and when the Bulgarian Prime Minister came to Skopje, the rhetoric was completely different, says Bogoev and adds that it is good if the opposition agrees with the state policies that are strategically important.

The whole conversation is in the video below: