Elections in the Republic of Macedonia

Macedonian police prevented rival rallies in Skopje from coming to blows on Thursday night amid fears that political tensions in the country could spiral out of control.

The anti-government rally was organized by the civil movement "Protestiram" ["I Protest"] and supported by the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM.

Speaker of parliament Trajko Veljanoski on Friday signed papers calling early general elections in Macedonia on June 5 - after opposition parties led by the Social Democrats, SDSM, said they would not participate.

"I believe all participants in the process will contribute towards the elections running in a calm and democratic atmosphere," Veljanovski wrote in a press release.

Amid heavy police presence in the Macedonian capital the two groups of protesters were not allowed to get close to each other.

Macedonia's main opposition party said it will boycott a "sham" election in June, as parliament dissolved ahead of the vote which is supposed to end a political crisis.
 
The June 5 election is part of a European Union-backed deal reached last year between the government and the opposition to end months of turmoil.
 

The Macedonian parliament was dissolved on Thursday, paving the way for the holding of the early parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on June 5.

However the holding of the elections on this date remains under question as Zoran Zaev, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), threatened to boycott the snap polls.

The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM , Zoran Zaev, said his party will not participate in the early elections set for June 5, insisting that key reforms, including those in the media to ensure objective election coverage, as well as cleaning up the electoral roll, had not been achieved.

The US embassy in Macedonia has dismissed claims made in the pro-government newspaper, Vest, that the US is hoping former prime minister and ruling party leader Gruevski will win the early elections in June.

Members of the State Election Commission, DIK, say the many inconsistencies in the electoral roll spotted by individuals, the media and political parties since the launch of an app last week will be dealt with before the June 5 early elections.

Bedredin Ibrahimi, a member of the DIK, says there is no cause for panic about the timeframe.

The scope of a planned "field check" of voters in Macedonia, due to start on Monday, will depend on cross-referencing of voters' data from various state institutions, which should show how many listed voters are "problematic" and need to be checked in person.

Macedonians are waiting to see whether parliament on Tuesday uses its last chance before its expected dissolution on Wednesday to postpone elections planned for April 24 on joint EU-US advice.

While the opposition insists that the election date must be pushed back, the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party maintains that there are no credible reasons for postponement.