Speaker Gashi to hold first press briefing

Skopje, 27 August 2024 (MIA) – Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi on Tuesday will hold an informal press briefing on current and future activities in Parliament.

In the meantime, parties are at odds with the no confidence motion submitted against Gashi, set to be discussed at a September 3 session in Parliament. The motion was filed by the party Levica.

As VMRO-DPMNE has said it won’t back the no confidence motion and SDSM has said it will define its position by the end of the week, Arben Taravari of the Worth It coalition said he doesn’t believe the no confidence motion will be passed.

“The parties that are government coalition partners will not favour the motion. It will fail, however, it will be used by the opposition parties to stage a spectacle in Parliament,” Taravari told reporters on Monday.

VMRO-DPMNE will not support the no confidence motion against Gashi, announced party leader and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski speaking to members of the media.

“The way he acts as a Speaker, how he runs the sessions are radically different from what had been done by his predecessor,” he said.

According to him, the SDSM-DUI-Levica coalition has its own motives why the no confidence motion was filed.

SDSM leader Venko Filipche has said his party will define a position on the no confidence motion against Gashi by the end of the week.

The main question, according to him, is why VMRO-DPMNE isn’t launching a procedure to replace Gashi in line with the ruling party’s commitment to holding every official accountable in case of any wrongdoing.

“Every day, we are listening to the prime minister talk about accountability. The Interior Ministry even has a report involving the Speaker’s inappropriate behavior. Thus, VMRO-DPMNE’s pledge for accountable governance goes down the drain,” stated Filipche.