Macedonia Opposition Chief Struggles to Unite Party

Macedonia's main opposition VMRO DPMNE party insists that its MPs' caucus in parliament stands united behind the new party chief, Hristijan Mickoski, elected in December - despite growing evidence to the contrary.

"The caucus is strong and united. All MPs are actively participating in the decision-making process within the organs of the party," VMRO DPMNE told BIRN on Thursday.

Mickoski claimed the same on Tuesday, when he rallied his MPs in front of the parliament to announce that they would not be coming back to the chamber until they see the release of the six VMRO DPMNE MPs detained in relation to the April 27 attack on parliament.

The problem was that only about 20 of a total of 42 VMRO DPMNE MPs could be seen rallying behind him.

The absence of some of the most prominent MPs, such as the former coordinator of the caucus, Ilija Dimovski, former parliament speaker Trajko Veljanoski, and former foreign minister Antonijo Milososki, was striking.

Before the event, these three MPs told reporters they would not be attending but refused to state the exact reasons why.

An unnamed source in the party claim that internal discord, which worsened during the disputed election of a new leader in December, is still ongoing.

"Some groups are visibly dissatisfied with what is going on, and have objections to the election of the new leader, while there are different voices about the party's future," the same source told BIRN, adding: "Communication between different fractions continues, but to what outcome, I cannot predict."

In December, Veljanoski, Milososki and Dimovski were among a group of party veterans who demanded the postponement of the election of a new leader, suspecting it might be rigged in...

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