SDSM

Zoran Zaev, leader of the opposition Social Democrat party, SDSM, accused the country's president on Wednesday evening of a coup d'état after refusing to award Zaev the mandate to form a government.
 

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has said he will not hand the second-largest party, SDSM, the mandate to form a government.

In a statement quoted by MIA news agency, he has called on SDSM leader Zoran Zaev to reject the so-called "Albanian platform". The latter was part of the preconditions for three of four Albanian parties to give support to Zaev's coalition efforts.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has issued a statement suggesting Macedonia should go on with the formation of a new government.

His message, published on NATO's website, comes as a coalition is yet to be forged two months after an early election, with the second-biggest party SDSM saying it has enough signatures to ask the President for a government mandate.

Macedonia's ruling VMRO DPMNE party has condemned the Special Prosecution, SJO, after it dropped all charges in the case codenamed "Coup" against opposition leader Zoran Zaev, on Wednesday.

The SJO said it was dropping charges because the evidence it had gathered, after inheriting this case last year from the regular prosecution, pointed in another direction.

Macedonia's election campaign formally started on Monday and over the next 20 days the parties will be holding rallies and round tables and trying to visit as many places as they can.

Macedonian voters in the December early elections will no longer run the risk of being tricked into voting for the wrong party.

Macedonia's State Electoral Commission, the DIK, on Monday rejected the list of candidates submitted by the small and obscure Social Democratic Party of Macedonia, SDPM.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, on Monday accused the ruling VMRO DPMNE party of trying to duck responsibility for a "mischievous" deputy minister who damaged two cars on Friday in Skopje with an official vehicle and then fled from the scene.

A recent opinion poll conducted in Macedonia suggests that the two old-established ethnic Albanian parties could face a serious challenge in the December 11 general elections.

Macedonia's main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, has dismissed the list of campaign promises issued by the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party as "lies for little children".