Skopje, 15 September 2022 (MIA) – I fully respected the Constitution as the highest legal act. It is in the competence of the Parliament Speaker to assess if initiatives are orderly and must consider their substance, says Speaker Talat Xhaferi over the rejection of the VMRO-DPMNE referendum initiative. “The Parliament Speaker assesses if the initiative is orderly and everyone thinks that I interpret the Constitution. Two regulations are decisive for the work of the Parliament – the Constitution and the Rules of Procedures. I am obliged to take the substance into consideration. They can press criminal charges, they have done this on hundreds of occasions before, but all rulings were in my favor,” Speaker Xhaferi told TV24. He says he had fully respected the Constitution as the highest legal act and there was no precedent. “Any citizen has the right to challenge my decision. I only implemented the Constitution. My decision is not political, this is my obligation as Speaker. I will not allow for the Parliament to be usurped by any political party, including my own and leader Ahmeti. He cannot decide on what constitutes a regulation because he is not the one that might be held accountable afterwards,” says Xhaferi.