Skopje, 27 April 2026 (MIA) — Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski dismissed concerns Monday that a potential parliamentary walkout by the opposition SDSM party would trigger a political crisis or delay the country's reforms.

The PM's comments followed reports that SDSM representatives may quit a workgroup on the Electoral Code. According to Mickoski, their choice to withdraw from the political process would only serve to marginalize the party.

"If they choose to marginalize themselves, I can’t stop them," Mickoski told reporters after inspecting construction works at Skopje’s Universal Hall.

The opposition party opposes a proposed law to abolish the caretaker government system, a long-standing arrangement that involves appointing an interim cabinet months before an election to ensure a fair voting process. 

Mickoski described his government's proposal as a fair compromise. Under the proposal, the caretaker government system would remain in place for the next elections but would be abolished for all subsequent ones.

"SDSM claim they are reorganizing; their party is stable and solid; new people — intellectuals, professors — join them every day; and they are confident they will win. Fine, there will be a caretaker government for the next elections. This is our proposal. So when they win, the new rules will apply to us when we are in the opposition. Now, there is no approach more honorable than this," Mickoski said.

Addressing rumors that SDSM lawmakers might walk out of Parliament, Mickoski warned that staging such a walkout would be a mistake. He recalled VMRO-DPMNE’s own walkout in 1994, saying it "went badly" for both the party and the country. He said it was "a major blow to the judicial system in Macedonia, when hundreds of judges were elected in the Macedonian Parliament in one go."

Mickoski also recalled that all parties had previously agreed to abandon the caretaker concept during an earlier leadership meeting, which SDSM had chosen not to attend. 

The PM said the government would remain stable regardless of the opposition's potential walkout.

According to him, the governing coalition can secure a two-thirds majority if challenged and all reform processes will continue without interruption.

"We are focused on developing the country," he said, adding that his government "cannot get bogged down in the opposition's political swamp." 

"We simply want to do better for our citizens and this is our main priority," he added. mr/