Skopje, 16 January 2026 (MIA) — It is better that political party leaders meet in person rather than talking through messengers, as shown by the recent leaders meeting where all of them were "relaxed" and "confident" about what is to come, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said in a TV appearance Friday evening.

"As a professor, like many of my colleagues, I would say that leaders meetings empower leaders but weaken institutions, but in a divided society like ours and amid this consociational democracy we have built not only in practice but also into the Constitution, it is good to meet sometimes," Siljanovska Davkova told Sitel TV. 

"Much better than talking to intermediaries. The ambiance is different. People behave differently. And then, when they are out of the public eye, they manage to be more natural. We saw the result. Everyone was relaxed, confident that the next step would be even better," she said, adding that SDSM leader Venko Filipche should have accepted the invitation to attend and it was "his mistake" he had not.

"It is better to sit down with people and to hear them out before giving statements," the president said.

Commenting on some topics leaders discussed during the meeting — such as scrapping the requirement that a caretaker government be formed 100 days prior to parliamentary elections, aimed at ensuring a fair vote under the Przhino Agreement — Siljanovska Davkova said forming a caretaker government ahead of elections had no constitutional basis.

"Yes, there are caretaker governments, formed either during crises, before elections," she said, adding that caretaker government members should be chosen, however, for their "expertise and competence" instead of their loyalty to the party.

"In the Constitution, in the section on government, there is nothing about a transitional or caretaker government," Siljanovska Davkova said. She recalled that parties other than VMRO-DPMNE had also demanded the caretaker government provision be scrapped from the Law on the Government.

"I am familiar with the rhetoric of all parties. I remember all of them, including SDSM and its leaders, saying that the caretaker government should be abolished," she said.

Siljanovska Davkova also said she was against holding early elections at the moment. 

Regarding proposed amendments to the Electoral Code that include forming a single electoral district, the president urged leaders to "sit down together and create solutions" which would take into account recommendations from the OSCE and the Venice Commission. mr/