Macedonian Parliament Stalled by VMRO DPMNE Filibuster

Observers say the VMRO DPMNE's stalling tactics, which involve the party's MPs making long speeches and holding discussions amongst themselves in order to prevent a vote on a new parliamentary speaker for as long as possible, are set to continue on Wednesday - and could drag out the process for weeks or possibly months.

Until a new speaker is chosen, a new government cannot take office, and the VMRO DPMNE, the former ruling party, wants to prevent the former opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, who have put together a parliamentary majority, from coming to power.

All 51 VMRO DPMNE MPs have put themselves down to speak, and during the ongoing debate, which started on Monday, they have mainly been talking amongst themselves.

"Unfortunately, this is an indicator that the complete constitution of the new parliament, which means the election of a new speaker and its normal functioning, will face further obstructions," said former MP Nazer Ziberi.

Despite being banned in the parliamentary rulebook, provisional parliamentary speaker Trajko Veljanoski, who comes from the VMRO DPMNE, allowed MPs from the same party to reply to each other during the debate because he said party caucuses have not yet been formalised.

The long-awaited parliamentary session comes after a three-month delay and amid deep a political rift centred around the VMRO DPMNE's refusal to allow the formation of a new SDSM-led government.

The new parliamentary majority led by the SDSM hoped to get the session finished as soon as possible, which would pave the way for the new government to be swiftly elected.

In an attempt to speed things up, the SDSM this week filed a motion for the election of Talat Xhaferi, an MP from their new coalition partners, the Democratic...