Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, has Resigned

The Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, resigned last night after the poor performance of his SDSM party in the second round of local elections, world agencies reported.

"I take full responsibility for the defeat of the elections," Zaev, whose Social Democratic Party is the leader in the ruling coalition, told a news conference. "I am resigning from the post of prime minister and from the post of party chairman," he added.

Zaev had promised to resign if his party performed poorly in the capital, Skopje. Opposition mayoral candidate Daniela Arsovska won the second round of elections with 55.85 per cent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said after counting 60 per cent of the vote.

Arsovska is running as an independent with the support of the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party.

/BTA