Macedonia's VMRO DPMNE Tweaks Leading Committee

Macedonia's former ruling VMRO DPMNE party has removed several indicted former ministers and senior officials from its executive committee - although with ousted PM Nikola Gruevski still leading the party, the changes appear more cosmetic than substantial, observers say.

"They want to show they are making changes but there can be no real change without the removal of the party leader. I see this as more of a cosmetic change than a substantial one," political analyst and Skopje university professor Nenad Markovic said.

The party, which held power for 11 years and went into opposition this May, on Sunday announced the removal of some of its most prominent figures from the executive committee.

They include the former Transport Minister, Mile Janakieski, the former Interior Minister, Gordana Jankuloska, the former chief of Gruevski's cabinet, Martin Protugjer, and the former Vice Prime Minister, Vladimir Pesevski.

All of them face charges pressed by the country's Special Prosecution, SJO, which was set up to investigate high-level crime.

Previously, the former secret police chief, Gruevski's cousin, Saso Mijalkov, announced that he was withdrawing from the party committee until he cleared his name regarding several charges, including an indictment for allegedly masterminding a massive illegal wiretapping scheme.

The party insists that the shifts are not related to the SJO indictments but to the need to strengthen the party ahead of the local elections in the autumn.

Some party officials also indicted by the SJO - or whose voices were heard in the illegal wiretaps relased in 2015 -  like MPs Daniela Rangelova, Antonijo Milososki, Ilija Dimovski and Gruevski himself, remain on the committee.

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