North Macedonia’s president gives mandate to SDSM’s new leader to form government

North Macedonia’s president gives mandate to SDSM’s new leader to form government
North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski gave the mandate to the new leader of the ruling SDSM, Dimitar Kovacevski, to form a new government. / pretsedatel.mk
By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje December 30, 2021

North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski gave the mandate on December 29 to the new leader of the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), Dimitar Kovacevski, to form a new government following the resignation of PM Zoran Zaev.

SDSM’s members elected Kovacevski as the new party leader on December 12 following Zaev's resignation from the party's top position. On December 23, the parliament endorsed the resignation of Zaev as prime minister, prompting the resignation of the entire government. Zaev resigned following the party's defeat in October local elections, when opposition VMRO-DPMNE won the most of mayoral posts.

“Following the proposal filed by SDSM and supported by the political parties within the ruling coalition, I appoint Dimitar Kovacevski as PM-designate,” President Pendarovski said in the statement.

According to the constitution, the prime minister-designate should submit his programme and propose the composition of the government to the assembly within 20 days from the day of entrusting the mandate. The 120-seat parliament elects the government by a majority of votes.

“From today I start forming a new team of people who have to respond to the serious challenges that await us from the beginning of 2022. The new government will have a clear goal - to ensure security, a better life and a bright future for our citizens,” Kovacevski said after receiving the mandate.

“My personal commitment is to restore the citizens' trust in politics and institutions," he added.

One of the main challenges of the new government will be to find a solution with neighbouring Bulgaria, which vetoed the start of the EU accession talks with Skopje for the second time in December 2021 due to language and history issues.

Previously, Zaev excluded the possibility of snap elections as demanded by the opposition, saying that the next election will be held at the end of the current parliamentary term in 2024.

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