Oliver Spasovski

The Social Democrats' vice president Radmila Shekerinska and the party's secretary general Oliver Spasovski are almost sure candidates for key ministerial posts in the new government led by the Social Democrat head Zoran Zaev, BIRN has found out.

Far from resolving the long-standing political crisis in Macedonia, Sunday's tight election outcome hints at an even tenser situation that could easily spill over into violent incidents, observers warn.

On a dramatic Friday night in Macedonia, Chief Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva personally intervened at the Beko police station in Skopje to ensure the release of an investigator who she said had been arrested for no good reason.

Experts and police employees say a damaging rift inside the Interior Ministry poses a threat to the work of the police and to the country's security.

In a written statement on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused the opposition of involvement in an ID forgery scandal, aimed at undermining his government.

Gruevski who is in the centre of a massive illegal surveillance scandal, accused the opposition Social Democrats of plotting "forgeries, destruction, scenarios, set ups, conspiracies and filthy moves.

Macedonia's new opposition interim Interior Minister, Oliver Spasovski, said the police organized crime department was investigating allegations that at least 30,000 fake IDs had been produced in time for next year's early elections.

They were allegedly produced at two secret locations, in the town of Stip and in the Skopje suburb of Shuto Orizari.

After several breached deadlines, Macedonia's warring parties on Friday reached an agreement on the appointment of several interim ministers and deputies from the ranks of the opposition.

The appointments were envisaged in the EU-brokered crisis agreement reached this summer that foresees several reforms being undertaken before early elections in April.

Macedonia's four main political parties on Friday reached consensus on power sharing in the period until the snap elections now confirmed for April 24 of next year.

The Macedonian Police Minister, Gordana Jankuloska, on Wednesday insisted her ministry was "clean" and was playing no role in management of the electoral roll.

Jankuloska’s statement came a day after the main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, as well as the junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, disputed the accuracy of the electoral roll.