The Members of Macedonia's parliament voted on Sunday evening to dissolve the assembly - a decision that opens the way to early elections set for April 12th.
The motion for dissolution was backed by 108 lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament, according to a video file of the session posted by parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi on his Facebook page.
In October 2019, former prime minister Zoran Zaev said he decided to call early general elections after the European Union leaders failed to agree on opening accession negotiations with the Western Balkan country.
Zaev said he would seek a new mandate to run the country following the European Council's decision not to open accesion talks with Skopje. The elections for members of the macedonian parliament will be held on April 12th after the main political parties reached a consensus at a meeting called by the president Stevo Pendarovski, Zaev said.
“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 Macedonia is a “historical mistake.”
In early January, Zaev submitted his resignation to parliament, opening the way for the formation of a caretaker cabinet headed by incumbent interior minister Oliver Spasovski that will organise the snap vote.
The European Council has said it will revert to the issue before the EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb in May.
The Council granted Macedonia the status of a EU candidate country already in 2005.
Deutsch: Mazedoniens Parlament aufgelöst
Deutsch: Mazedoniens Parlament aufgelöst
