Macedonia Court to Mull Election Postponement

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday scheduled a session for the following morning to discuss whether the dissolution of parliament ahead of the June 5 polls was unconstitutional because it was carried out incorrectly.

The junior party in the ruling coalition, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, which like Macedonia's opposition parties wants the polls to be postponed, submitted the issue to the court last Friday.

The DUI insists that the dissolution should be annulled because the MPs voted for a carte-blanche motion allowing parliament to be dissolved two months before the election, without setting the actual date.

The party argues that a new dissolution vote should have been taken once the June 5 date was set.

If the court annuls the dissolution, parliament would have to convene and discuss the election's postponement, as three out of four main political parties including the DUI have already declared they are against the June 5 date for the polls.

The court's secretary Olivera Filipovska confirmed that the matter would be discussed on Wednesday.

"The court will discuss the initiative first thing in the morning [on Wednesday]," Filipovska told BIRN.

However she declined to comment on speculation that the court was under pressure to speed up its procedures as part of efforts towards a breakthrough in the political stalemate in the country.

Amid ongoing anti-government protests and counter-protests by government supporters, the DUI, the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM and the Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA said that reforms have not been implemented that would allow truly free elections to take place.

On Monday the European Union also said it will not recognise the polls if only one main party takes...