Skopje, 4 June 2024 (MIA) — The constitutive session of the 11th Parliament on May 28, which verified the newly elected MPs' terms of office, also ended the caretaker Prime Minister's and government ministers' terms under Article 8 Paragraph 1 of the Electoral Code, the Parliament Speaker's cabinet said in response to Levica's press release earlier on Tuesday requesting that outgoing PM Talat Xhaferi be stripped of his parliamentary seat over holding two elected public offices simultaneously.

"Until the new government is elected, the caretaker gvernment will perform only their most essential duties," the release from Parliament said.

Pointing out that this practice was not unprecedented, the release listed the examples of the parliamentary compositions of 1998-2002, 2002-2006 and 2006-2008.

The release said that nowhere in the Constitution, the Electoral Code or in any laws on Parliament and on Members of Parliament was there a provision on terminating an outgoing government official's term in the period after a new parliament was constituted and before a new government was formed.

"In this particular case, we should take into account that Articles 43, 44 and 46 of the Law on Government regulate the termination of the Minister of Interior's and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy's terms of office as well as those of the additional ministers," the release said, adding that no such provision existed for the PM and other government members.

Earlier on Tuesday, Levica's parliamentary group officially requested that Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi have caretaker Prime Minister Talat Xhaferi vacate the office of Member of Parliament in line with the Constitution and a number of other laws, including the Law on Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest. mr/