Hristijan Mickoski

Early general elections in North Macedonia, which were put on hold due to the COVID-19 crisis, will be held on July 15, the head of the main ruling Social Democrats, SDSM, Zoran Zaev, said on Monday, after striking a deal with the opposition parties.

The decision of the government of North Macedonia to scrap movement restrictions, starting Wednesday, and gradually reopen cafes on Thursday, has drawn criticism that the move is driven mainly by the ruling party's quest for early elections rather than being based on real assessments of the health situation.

Former Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski have been isolated on suspicion of a coronavirus. This was announced by Health Minister Venko Filipce.

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.

An opinion poll published on Monday by the International Republican Institute, IRI, a US-based democracy development organisation, suggested that North Macedonia's main ruling Social Democrats enjoy a very slight popularity advantage over their bitter rivals, the right-wing opposition VMRO DPNNE party.

The formation of North Macedonia's caretaker government, tasked with ensuring democratic early general elections on April 12, has encountered new complications after the opposition VMRO DPMNE party proposed an army lieutenant-colonel, Dragan Kovacki, as caretaker interior minister.

The Prime Minister and head of the main ruling Social Democratic Party, Zoran Zaev, and the head of the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party, Hristijan Mickoski, were expected to strike a final deal at the weekend on the formation of a so-called technical government in January, 100 days ahead of the April 12 early elections.

Ruling alliance candidate Stevo Pendarovski [right] with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev [left]. Photo: EPA/EFE GEORGI LICOVSKI

North Macedonia's Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, has said that he agreed to change his country's name and Constitution because PM Alexis Tsipras accepted the existence of a "Macedonian identity".

In a debate with opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, Zaev also noted that Tsipras had initially accepted the name Republic of Ilinden Macedonia.

In what was seen as a bid by the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party to flex its muscles following a period of turbulence within its own ranks, thousands of people marched in the streets of Skopje to demonstrate their discontent with the Social Democrat-led government.