Skopje, 29 January 2026 (MIA) - SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Thursday the party remains on the position it will not support the termination of the caretaker government, noting it should be done through consensus.

"We believe it is a political trick by the authorities to sneak in a law by which the caretaker government would remain in place but is scrapped for the subsequent elections. We think that the caretaker government should remain in place because the conditions for its termination have not matured. Regarding the control over institutions and the reasons why it was introduced in the first place, they are still here - abuse of institutions, if not more brutal, as seen in the abuse of the police during the local elections. Therefore, the society has not matured for scrapping of the caretaker government," Filipche told a press conference.

Participants at the recent leaders' meeting, which SDSM did not attend, reached an agreement that the caretaker government should remain in place for the next elections but cancel it for the subsequent election cycle.

MIA file photo