Macedonia President Defends Refusal to Offer Mandate

The office of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on Monday said the obstacles preventing him from awarding a mandate to the opposition Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev had not been removed.

This is despite calls by the opposition and the international community for the President not to further delay the formation of a new government.

"President Ivanov maintains his position from his March 1 public address. The obstacles preventing awarding the mandate for a new government are not cleared," Ivanov's cabinet said in a press release.

Ivanov refused to award Zaev a mandate to form a government on March 1, despite the opposition leader having assembled a majority in parliament.

He claimed that Zaev's alleged acceptance of the so-called "Albanian Platform" of a group of ethnic Albanian parties might destroy the country.

Last Friday, Zaev unveiled his new government platform in a fresh attempt to persuade the President to give him the mandate, saying the platform contained proof that the new government will not violate the terms of the constitution.

Meanwhile, the political parties that form the new majority in parliament on Monday started talks on electing a new parliament speaker, in an attempt to address the second "procedural" obstacle that Ivanov listed for not offering the mandate.

According to estimates, if talks between the Social Democrats, SDSM, and the ethnic Albanian partiess go well, the session of the parliament could take place on Wednesday or Thursday.

"We hope to wrap this as soon as possible, so we can move things forward," a senior SDSM source told BIRN on Monday under condition of anonymity.

In March 1, besides objecting to the "Albanian Platform", Ivanov said he could not give...