Skopje, 7 May 2026 (MIA) - Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told TV Alfa in an interview Thursday he would propose to Parliament a delayed implementation of the new Law on Internal Affairs and the amendments to the Law on Police, so they enter into effect after the next electoral cycle.

Toshkovski’s statement comes after accusations from opposition party SDSM that the police is being placed under partisan control and the new Law on Internal Affairs is unconstitutional. Toshkovski said the accusations are an attempt by the opposition to come up with an alibi for the electoral defeat which, he said, awaits them at the next parliamentary elections.

“So as not to give them an alibi, and so as not to give them room to criticize and look for an exit scenario, I will propose to the members of Parliament, as soon as possible, to adopt an amendment with which the new Law on Internal Affairs and the amendments to the Law on Police will be postponed and enter into effect after the conclusion of the next electoral cycle,” Toshkovski said.

Since the next regular parliamentary elections are expected to be held in around two years, Toshkovski said the amendments would enter into force after this period. The goal, he said, is to ensure the elections are held under the same rules as before, so the opposition does not have the opportunity to claim the legislation had an effect on the electoral conditions.

“We are doing all of this just to avoid giving them the smallest opportunity to find an alibi they could use to justify their debacle at the next parliamentary elections,” Toshkovski said.

The Minister said after losing the argument related to the caretaker government, SDSM is now trying to shift the focus to the new Law on Internal Affairs.

He said the new legislation is significantly better than the existing one, however, once again reiterated that its implementation would be delayed “in the interest of political responsibility and public trust”.

“The legal amendments are incomparably better than the ones we had with the old legislation, but it is a fact that the opposition’s attack is focused precisely on this,” Toshkovski said.

Regarding an initiative for the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the legislation, the Interior Minister said the delayed implementation would provide sufficient time for an institutional, legal, and public debate over all issues.

“The law was supposed to enter into force on July 1, but, to avoid giving the impression that we are exerting pressure on this Constitutional Court, this period of two years will provide ample opportunity and time for discussion over whether certain provisions are appropriate or not,” the Minister said.

Photo: MoI