Skopje, 20 January 2024 (MIA) - VMRO-DPMNE reiterated in a press release on Saturday that the party will name ministers and additional deputy-ministers in the caretaker government, without voting in favor of Talat Xhaferi as caretaker prime minister. 

"We hold to our position that we will not vote for the composition of the government, and it is up to SDSM whether they will choose to respect the laws or break them, by which they reveal intentions to jeopardize the election process," VMRO-DPMNE said. 

Law does not recognize "vacant posts" of ministers, VMRO-DPMNE adds, noting that a government is not voted individually but as a whole. 

Prime Minister and SDSM leader Dimitar Kovachevski told reporters on Friday the ministerial posts that belong by law to the opposition in the caretaker government should remain vacant until VMRO-DPMNE votes in favor of that government.

He called on the nominee for caretaker PM Talat Xhaferi to form a government in which the posts of the ministers and additional deputy-ministers will remain vacant until VMRO-DPMNE decides to support the caretaker government. 

"Participating in a government, means supporting that government. There is no experience or example in the world of a political party participating in a government without supporting that government. Therefore, I believe that VMRO-DPMNE, in accordance with the law, just like all other political parties that are called to have ministers in the caretaker government, should name its candidates and vote in favor of the caretaker government. If VMRO-DPMNE decides not to vote in favor of that government, then I think those posts should remain vacant," said Kovachevski.

Photo: MIA archive