Zoran Zaev

The protests in Skopje against the recent decision of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to pardon all politicians suspected for their involvement in last year's wiretapping scandal entered their second day on Wednesday.

Thousands of people gathered in the centre of the Macedonian capital for a more violent protest which targeted the president's office.

Skopje police confirmed the arrest of twelve people on Wednesday, after a group of people stormed President Gjorge Ivanov's office in central Skopje demolishing its interior.

The reporter for Plusinfo news portal Goran Naumovski was injured during the scuffles.

A decision by Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to halt all proceedings against politicians allegedly involved in last year's wiretapping scandal has drawn fire both home and abroad.

Preisdent Ivanov told a press conference on Tuesday that he had not consulted any political parties before deciding to pardon politicians facing crime probes - most of whom are from the ruling parties and are being investigated by the recently formed special prosecution.

A source inside Macedonia's State Electoral Commission, DIK told BIRN that the process of weeding out alleged fake voters from the electoral roll is being undermined by the pressure from the ruling parties.

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.

Macedonia postponed the early parliamentary elections, which had initially been scheduled to take place on April 24, to June 5.

Recently, the EU and the USA expressed concern that the necessary conditions were not in place for the holding of fair and democratic elections.