Skopje, 12 February 2024 (MIA) – The Parliament during its 143rd session on Monday afternoon elected Ilir Demiri as Minister of Health and Naim Bajrami as Minister of Information Society and Administration, replacing their party colleagues Fatmir Mexhiti and Azir Aliu, who were dismissed on Friday upon the proposal of the caretaker Prime Minister Talat Xhaferi.

Both Demiri and Bajrami were elected with 63 votes in favor, none against or abstaining. They took their solemn oath following appointment.

During the debate, VMRO-DPMNE MPs assessed that the election of the new ministers lacked any logic, especially now, as they stated, just before the elections. They characterized such a decision as a "circus called the DUI and SDSM government."

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova emphasized that according to the Government Law, the caretaker government should ensure and conduct fair and democratic elections.

"This means that the profile of the ministers should not only be non-partisan but also include elements of expertise, yet in this case, we're only talking about the partisan individuals," Siljanovska-Davkova added.

The request for the dismissal of Mexhti and Aliu came after they supported the Alliance for Albanians (AA) leader, Arben Taravari, who announced that he would join with the opposition parties of ethnic Albanians in the upcoming elections.

Late last Friday, lawmakers voted to dismiss Health Minister Fatmir Mexhiti and Minister of Information Society and Administration Azir Aliu, after a turbulent week for the Alliance of Albanians, a junior partner in the governing coalition.

In the motion for dismissal, caretaker Prime Minister Talat Xhaferi said they should be removed from their posts because "according to the law, there cannot be two opposition entities in the government."

Following the appointment of the two ministers, a decision was reached to amend the decision on the composition of the Budget Council of the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia. Following this, Parliament Speaker, Jovan Mitreski, adjourned the session, stating that MPs would receive additional information regarding the continuation.

Photo: print screen