Skopje, 27 February 2024 (MIA) - Caretaker Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski said in an interview with MIA that the Ministry was setting up a target to reach a production of some 3,300 passports per day. He added that this was the maximum number if there is no downtime in the passport production during the day, i.e. if work starts at 6 a.m. and goes on until 10 p.m., increasing production capacity by two hours a day. 

 

According to Toshkovski, the total number of personal documents that need to be replaced is somewhere around two million. He pointed out that he expects to reach a figure of around 75,000 per month, which is the maximum capacity. 

 

"All the time that I can give to improve something in the process in the period that we have left, around 70 days until the elections, as well as the time after the elections, as this process will not stop during the elections, I will give it together with my entire team, and together with all those who are well-intentioned both within the Ministry and in relation to this issue. The Ministry's production numbers stand around 50,000 passports per month. The number we want to reach, a real number, is somewhere around 75,000 passports per month," said Toshkovski. 

 

 

Toshkovski noted that rescheduling will be done in such a way that the lists will be cleaned up every 20 days. This means that if someone previously had an appointment on December 15, they will now have an appointment at the end of April.

 

“Rescheduling started with appointments as of May 1, and I believe it has now come to those appointments in August. The appointments are being rescheduled as slots are freed up. So, rescheduling started from May 1 onwards. But the list clean up showed that there were free slots in April as well,” Toshkovski said.  

 

 

Toshkovski describes the cooperation with the additional Deputy Minister Mitko Bojmacaliev as correct, in contrast to, he notes, the illegality in the Government's operations.

 

"It's normal to have disagreements on certain topics from the point of view of whether I have the right to put my signature only or he thinks I don't have the right to sign - that's very normal, but we have an appropriate cooperation and I hope it will continue like that. In contrast to the appropriate cooperation with the additional Deputy Minister and the Deputy Minister, I have to express great concern about the illegality in the Government's operations because the Government is the one making the decisions, and all its decisions are made illegally," Toshkovski noted. 

 

 

According to Toshkovski, the functioning of the caretaker Government is disastrous, as it didn't respect the basic legal obligations that it should respect. He noted that he was not allowed to appoint a head of the Tetovo police, though he has a right to do so in accordance with the law. 

 

"This is the first fact where they made a disastrous foul, and I tell this to all the representatives of the international community in detail, and I must say that they are expressing great concern about the democratic capacity of this country in the area of ​​conducting fair and democratic elections," said Toshkovski. 

 

 

The biggest problem, he underlined, is that they took the obligation to formally and legally explain why they did that, and there has been no explanation why for over a month now.

 

"Not a name and a surname, but the position of a head of the Tetovo police, I was not allowed to do the appointment, and the additional Deputy Minister was not allowed to appoint for the position of additional head of the Tetovo police - it is not clear to me how the decision was made by the Government and why we have no legal explanation to this day," Toshkovski said.

 

Toshkovski expects a peaceful election day, as befits a European country, and believes that everyone, including the caretaker Deputy Minister and the additional Deputy Minister as well as the head of the Public Security Bureau, will give their best and the process of fair and democratic elections on the day of voting will be carried out smoothly. He added that election operational headquarters will be set up this week.

 

"I want to believe that all these people together with me will do our best and that this process of fair and democratic elections will be carried out smoothly on voting day, both in the first round of the presidential elections and in the run-off, as well as in the parliamentary elections," Toshkovski pointed out. 

 

 

Toshkovski noted that in addition to the passport issue, the fact that the Government was working illegally was highlighted at the meetings with the ambassadors. 

 

As regards his TV appearances, Toshkovski said he did not like the publicity, but it was his duty to inform the public. 

 

Aleksandar Atanasov

Photo: Frosina Naskovikj

Video: Andrej Brankovikj and Vladimir Rabasovikj

 

Below is the video footage of the entire interview: