The government remains. The initiative by the opposition for a vote of confidence in the Government did not pass in the Parliament last night before midnight. The session was closed by the President of the Assembly Talat Xhaferi, with the explanation that due to the lack of a quorum, the agenda is not open and a debate on the vote of confidence in the Government cannot be opened. Earlier, after uncertainty and a stormy day, opposition lawmakers walked out of parliament but said they were not withdrawing the initiative and called for early parliamentary elections to find a way out of the political crisis, MIA informs.
– Due to the fact that the agenda is not open, a debate on no-confidence vote of the Government cannot be opened. We conclude that the Government has not received a vote of no confidence and on this basis the Government continues with its full composition and the duties it has. The vote of confidence in the Government is over, Xhaferi stated last night.
According to the procedures of the Rules of Procedure, Xhaferi clarified that from the moment of the issue of trust in the Government, the Assembly has the right to debate on the third day the issue of trust in the Government submitted by the opposition with 61 signatures.
– Considering that they did not have a quorum for the purpose for which this issue was submitted, the agenda was not voted because the agenda is not open, a debate on no-confidence vote of the Government cannot be opened. We conclude that the Government has not received a vote of no confidence and on this basis the Government continues with its full composition and the duties it has. I conclude that the planned matter for this session has been exhausted and I conclude this session and conclude that the session is over. I wish the Government success in the coming days that the executive has, said Xhaferi.
Only the representatives of the Government led by Zoran Zaev were present at the session last night.
After the session was closed, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Political System and Inter-Community Relations Artan Grubi in front of the Parliament in a statement to the media said that the citizens should be calm because tonight Euro-Atlantic Macedonia won.
– Macedonia won with good neighborly relations. Macedonia in good friendly relations with the United States, with the EU, Macedonia in good relations between the communities and I am grateful to all coalition partners, said Grubi, saying that with this parliamentary majority, integration into the European Union remains guaranteed.
Asked if “Alternative” is the new partner, Grubi He said that everyone who wants the country to be integrated into the EU, to have good neighborly relations, peace and stability is welcome.
Earlier, the opposition MPs left the Parliament, but as they stated, they do not withdraw the initiative for a vote of confidence in the Government. They demand quick early parliamentary elections to get out of the political crisis.
The Vice President of VMRO-DPMNE Aleksandar Nikoloski On behalf of the coalition, he said in front of the Parliament last night that democracy has been trampled on and that the government is trying to stay in power at any cost.
– Unfortunately, we have another day that will remain written in the black pages of Macedonian history because today in Macedonia democracy is trampled. An MP was abducted in Macedonia today. Today in Macedonia we saw how the ruling regime is transformed into the most criminal regime ever seen in Europe. There will be a responsibility for that much faster than they think, the day will come when all those who kidnapped an MP today and all those who today took phones from MPs, kept MPs in certain rooms so that they can not go out and communicate and they made everything to trample the Macedonian democracy, said Nikoloski.
At the beginning of the session, this morning, 61 MPs were present, but the President of the Assembly Talat Xhaferi left the session because, as he said, he does not support the initiative and called on the Vice President of the Assembly Fadil Zendeli to chair the session. During the counting, it was concluded that 60 MPs were present at the session. The MPs from the ruling parties SDSM and DUI were not present in the hall, and without them and without Kastriot Rexhepi from Besa who announced that he will not participate in the parliamentary session, the opposition MPs together with the other two MPs from Besa are 60.
According to Article 95 of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, the Assembly can decide if the majority of the total number of Representatives is present at the session, ie 61.
Yesterday with a series of speculations and uncertainty
After Besa MP Kastriot Rexhepi announced that he would not participate in the session, speculations surfaced about his alleged disappearance and kidnapping.
Besa leader Bilal Kasami said the government could secure 120 votes with such mechanisms. “This is already delegitimization because criminal acts and mechanisms provide votes so that this criminal government does not fall,” Kasami said.
Kasami informed that he “reported that a member of the Besa movement is missing”, as well as his closest family – mother, wife and son – and called on the authorities to find him where he is and explain why he is not available for 24 hours.
He previously said that the Movement stands for the fall of this regime and that the latest developments with MP Kastriot Rexhepi prove that this government is ready to do anything to stay in these positions.
VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski also said that there is a lot of speculation about the absence of Besa MP Kastriot Rexhepi in Parliament and neither the president nor the prime minister have an opinion on his whereabouts.
He said that yesterday it was speculated that this would happen and that if it was confirmed that MPs were traded “in this country it is no longer worthwhile for a person to be involved in politics”.
Immediately after the publication of the speculations, the MP Kastriot Rexhepi announced a video message to the public through his Facebook profile. He initially thanked for the support and said that the security and stability of the state, peace and prosperity of the people, should be the most important thing for all.
– I want to thank you for your support. The security and stability of the country, the peace and well-being of our people, should definitely be the most important thing for everyone. President Bilal Kasami and others should not worry about me. “I am in a safe place, I am on the right side, I am with the Albanians, and with all the citizens of the country who want peace, freedom and democracy,” Rexhepi said in a Facebook message.
He emphasizes that he is with the EU and NATO and is not with anti-Albanian circles.
– I am telling you this with a clear conscience and as soon as some dangers of threats from certain individuals pass, I will appear before the media and explain everything. I will always stand for freedom of expression, for the free attitude of decision-making, which is a virtue of a democratic society. God bless the Albanians, Macedonians and all who live in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Rexhepi added in the announcement.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the SDSM parliamentary group Jovan Mitreski said that the parliamentary majority is stable and will grow. For the MP, Kastriot Rexhepi said that according to the information at his disposal, he was pressured by the opposition, not the government.
As Mitreski said, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski is to blame for the events in the Parliament, who lied to the public that he has 61 MPs.
– As I said before, as I said that for the first time I agree with a statement of Mr. Hristijan Mickoski, I will repeat once again that not only do we have but I say that this parliamentary majority will grow. Let the events that will take place tomorrow be received by those who need to announce them, and I, of course, as a parliamentarian and as the coordinator of the parliamentary group in the next period, will go out with all of them together, said Mitreski.
DUI MP Arber Ademi stressed that the MPs are for a government that nurtures European and Euro-Atlantic values, so, he said, Mr. Rexhepi’s heart lies in Washington and Brussels. Asked if they had contact with Besa MP Kastriot Rexhepi, Ademi said “no”, but did not answer the question “how many MPs are behind the government”.
The first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Political System and Inter-Community Relations, Artan Grubi, said that there are two camps in the Parliament – one pro-EU and another that does not lead to isolation, so the MPs, he said, should decide whether to continue on the road of Northern Macedonia towards the EU and towards stability or insecurity.
Regarding the accusations of the opposition that “someone from the government threatened” the MP Kastriot Rexhepi from Besa, who announced through Facebook that he decided not to participate in today’s session of the Parliament where the Prime Minister’s no-confidence motion is to be voted. Zoran Zaev, Grubi stressed that this is not true.
Alternative MP Skender Rexhepi previously said in a statement before the Parliament that he remains in the same position, ie that “this Government should go into opposition.”
“We came here to vote for the fall of this government and our position remains that the government should go into opposition,” Rexhepi said.
Asked if they would be part of a government led by SDSM, the Alternative MP said that they are currently in opposition and that they are fighting the battle as opposition.
– If in the future we would have an offer, it will be considered in the party bodies. “Now our goal is to overthrow this government by midnight,” Rexhepi said.
Source: MIA
