Hristijan Mickovski

On the other hand, the independent candidate for the mayor of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, declared victory, and the leading Macedonian opposition party VMRO-DPMNE calls for early parliamentary elections.

The heads of North Macedonia's main political parties met at the presidential palace in Skopje on Tuesday and agreed to postpone the early elections, which were originally slated for April 12.

The modalities for the postponement and a new election date have yet to be determined, however.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Macedonians to seize the opportunity for a breakthrough in the country's Euro-Atlantic perspective and take part in the forthcoming September 30 referendum on the "name" agreement with Greece.

"Do not stay at home on September 30, on this historic day," Merkel said at a joint press conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Macedonia's main opposition VMRO DPMNE party is in a dilemma over whether to tap into the 1.3 million euros that parliament has set aside for campaigning for the September 30 "name" referendum. It has until the end of Monday to officially make up its mind.

A formal call for a referendum in Macedonia, backed by the MPs from the ruling majority, but also possibly by some opposition MPs, is to be formally handed on Monday to the speaker of parliament, Talat Xhaferi, who is expected to put it to vote at a plenary session.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he hoped parliament would adopt a formal decision supporting the referendum on the country's deal with Greece by Monday - which he added would then be staged with or without the support of the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party.

In his public address after Monday's parlays, Macedonian Prime Minister and main ruling Social Democrats leader Zoran Zaev accused the opposition right-wing VMRO DPMNE chief Hristijan Mickovski of "lying" that he wants his country to join NATO and the EU, and of hiding his true intentions at the talks.

Macedonia's main opposition VMRO DPMNE party has agreed to stop blocking the appointments of members of the State Electoral Commission, DIK, in exchange for a provision guaranteeing the formation of a technical government 100 days ahead of any future elections, to ensure their fairness and regularity.

Talks between Macedonia's main ruling Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, and the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party, led by Hristijan Mickovski, failed to clear the path on Thursday towards a referendum on the historic "name" deal with Greece.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has set up a meeting with leaders of the opposition and other parliamentary parties for Wednesday afternoon, aimed at ending the opposition's informal blockade of the planned referendum on the name deal with Greece which is aimed at clearing the country's way towards NATO and EU membership.