Skopje, 14 July 2026 (MIA) - A real apology means acknowledging the mistake, changing the behavior and sanctioning Ivan Stoiljkovikj, said SDSM leader Venko Filipche on Tuesday regarding yesterday's events in the Parliament, when opposition lawmakers said they were subjected to insults by the now-elected Minister of Local Self-Government Stoiljkovikj.

Ahead of the vote on the new Government ministers, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski apologized to MPs and the public for the events, saying he hoped such incidents would never happen again.

"It would have been decent if he had apologized, but he only created a perception of apologizing in an empty hall after opposition lawmakers left. He also put on a political theatre by uttering a forced 'I am sorry.' Nevertheless, he cannot erase the insults and his behavior. Citizens deserve respect and dignity, they deserve a PM who unifies, not one who divides and insults them. I will repeat what I said yesterday - no one is afraid of Hristijan Mickoski. This type of behavior only reflects his weakness and incompetence," Filipche told a press conference.

The SDSM leader said the government reshuffle is only a revised version of "a government that is incapable of solving citizens' problems."

Regarding the country's Euro-integration process, Filipche said today is 'Super Tuesday' for EU enlargement, with four accession conferences being held in parallel - with Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro - noting that "four countries are moving forward, while Macedonia is standing still."

Regarding the Electoral Code, he reiterated that SDSM would support the amendments if they focused solely on the implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.

"This is what we want to see, and not an attempt to put a mechanism in place that would lead to election manipulation. The diaspora are currently voting in the same way as the country's residents, the only difference being that they exercise their voting right in embassies and consulates. Now the authorities are pushing for a model that opens room for abuse. What is the purpose of this? How will the electronic or mail voting be controlled, since no controlling mechanism is being presented," said Filipche.

According to him, SDSM sees no issue with the single election district and more financing for smaller political parties.

"We support these aspects but cannot accept a provision that allows for a different way of diaspora voting that raises suspicions of election fraud," underlined Filipche.

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