January 27 - An Albanian PM in North Macedonia, Ahmeti: We are closer to EU

 


The leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), Ali Ahmeti, addressing citizens on January 27, 2024. Photo courtesy: Ali Ahmeti (Facebook, clip grab)

Jan 27, 2024. Posted by  Balkan Periscope - Hellas

 

Talat Xhaferi is expected to assume the role of the first Albanian Prime Minister in North Macedonia this Sunday after the vote in the Assembly on the composition of the interim Government that will lead the country to the double elections to be held in May.

The leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), Ali Ahmeti, addressed the citizens in a speech calling Sunday a historic day.

“Four years ago, from this place, I addressed you with the words ‘everything starts with a dream’. I told you that we all have our dreams for our children. Freedom and equality do not come easily; they also require belief that the goal will be achieved. I believed in the Ohrid Agreement and the official recognition of the Albanian language,” said Ahmeti.


He expressed belief that North Macedonia will become part of the European Union.


“I believe we will soon join the EU because it is our ideal. Tomorrow is a historic day. On January 28, we will elect the first Albanian Prime Minister of North Macedonia. This day is historic both for Albanians and Macedonians because we are becoming a state and a society of equals, and we are overcoming all prejudices together, taking responsibility to lead the country not one after the other, shoulder to shoulder, for a European North Macedonia,” stressed the leader of the BDI.

“I am grateful that you trusted us, that you stood behind our dream, and that this trust of yours will be rewarded tomorrow with a promise kept and with work done and a dream realized. Our country will become stronger and more united. This is just the beginning; we have much work to do and dreams to realize,” Ahmeti expressed.

Earlier during the week, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski, presented his resignation, along with that of his cabinet, to the Parliament on Thursday. He has led the Government since January 11, 2022.


The technical Government, expected to be voted on January 28, will be led by Talat Xhaferi from the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), who also resigned from the position of the Speaker of the North Macedonian Parliament on January 26.

Jovan Mitrevski from SDSM will assume the position of the Parliament Speaker, and will also prepare the session for the election of the new government.

The opposition in North Macedonia will be part of the technical Government, according to the Law on Elections, aiming to organize and conduct the electoral process.


VMRO-DPMNE will lead two ministries, Internal Affairs and Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, as well as three deputy minister positions with specific responsibilities.

The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, stated that his party remains firm in not voting for Talat Xhaferi as the Prime Minister of the technical Government.


However, the non-voting of opposition MPs does not prevent the formation of the new government since the parliamentary majority has the necessary number of 61 votes to approve the new government.

“We will be in the parliament hall, but we will abstain from voting because we believe that Talat Xhaferi does not deserve to be voted for the leadership of this government. We will not vote for him, considering his behavior, violation of the Parliament’s rules, Constitution, and many other parliamentary procedures. We believe that he cannot lead with this duty and make us proud. But he will be in this position as a result of an agreement between SDSM and BDI,” said Mickoski.

The opposition leader said that he does not expect “good things” from this government; instead, he anticipates conflicts and disputes on all issues.

“This will be a government of conflicts; it will not be a government to set goals for the work it will do. Every day there will be bickering over different things. There, we will not be able to talk about something valuable for the state,” Mickoski said.


Another change in the new government is expected in the position of the First Deputy Prime Minister. Bojan Maricikj from SDSM will replace Artan Grubi of BDI in this position. Grubi is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs.

The technical Government to be voted on January 28 will be the third in a row since the changes in the Law on the Work of the Government.

Its functioning 100 days before each electoral cycle was established in 2016 when former prime minister Nikola Gruevski was ousted from power. 

Gruevski is in exile in Hungary to avoid imprisonment and several legal proceedings for abuse of office and manipulation of electoral processes.

Euronews