SKOPJE (North Macedonia), January 3 (SeeNews) – North Macedonia’s prime minister Zoran Zaev submitted his resignation to parliament on Friday, opening the way for the formation of a caretaker government that will organise snap elections on April 12, local media reported on Friday.
In October, Zaev said he has decided to call early general elections after the European Union leaders failed to agree on opening accession negotiations with the Western Balkan country. The date of the snap vote was agreed by the main political parties in the country.
Parliament is expected to vote on the caretaker government later on Friday, news agency MIA reported.
Incumbent interior minister Oliver Spasovski is expected to replace Zaev at the head of the new cabinet, according to the news agency.
In October Zaev said he would seek a new mandate to run the country following the European Council's decision not to open acccesion talks with North Macedonia.
“With all the responsibility I decided to seek a new, full and clear mandate to continue down the road we have taken,” Zaev said at the time, adding that the decision of the European Council not to open accession talks with North Macedonia is a “historical mistake.”
The European Council has said it will revert to the issue before the EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb in May.
The Council granted North Macedonia the status of a candidate member in 2005.
Zaev took over as prime minister in 2017 after his SDSM party won a landslide victory against the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party.