We are still intent upon holding early elections that will put an end to the damage that Branko Cvenkovski is causing, said Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski Sunday. He reiterated that early elections would be held even if SDSM boycotted them.
He believes that the president of the State Election Commission (DIK), Aleksandar Novakovski, resigned under direct pressure from Crvenkovski.
“It is obvious that he resigned under pressure. But this does not change the situation a lot. Crvenkovski may have bought 15-20 days by extorting a resignation from the president of DIK, who publicly said that the Commission was ready for elections and that the voters’ list was revised. I will not be surprised if the other member of DIK from SDSM gives in to Crvenkovski’s pressure over the next few days too,” Prime Minister Gruevski said
The 2-month period, required for the campaign and the early elections, according to Gruevski, is not going to affect the name issue talks.
“We are going to remain active in these two months as well, trying to make progress or come to a solution,” he said.
Not accepting the legitimate demands of the opposition is a proof of the fear of Nikola Gruevski and VMRO-DPMNE from free early elections, SDSM vice president Gordan Georgiev said Sunday. He said that in 2006 as an opposition Gruevski threatened to boycott the elections unless his demands were met and unless the election law was passed by consensus. Georgiev cited Gruevski as saying in 2006 that “the president of the State Election Commission may be proposed solely by the opposition with most MPs.”
“The then government led by SDSM met all demands of opposition VMRO-DPMNE. Of 10 demands, SDSM met by consensus as many as nine. In this way, all conditions for free and fair elections were created, from which Macedonia’s credibility benefited most. From the position of government, instead of showing today a democratic sense of consensus, Gruevski is demonstrating political despotism and violence,” Georgiev said.
He wondered if Gruevski wanted elections right away considering his ratings and self-confidence were waning and so every day counted or wished to rig the elections.
“The government must not dare elect president of DIK on its own in order to organize early elections. Those elections will not be fair and free. The president of DIK cannot be elected without the proposal of the largest opposition party – SDSM,” Georgiev stressed.
If early elections were held today, VMRO-DPMNE would poll 21.2 percent, SDSM 10.8 percent, BDI 6.3 percent, PDSH 3.5 percent, Demokracia e Re 3.3 percent and Rufi Osmani 1 percent of the vote, according to the telephone poll conducted by the Institute of Democracy on a sample of 1,110 interviewees from 21 to 23 February, MIA reported.
53.8 percent of the interviewees said they supported early elections and asked when they should be held, 51.3 percent said this spring. Asked who they would vote for, 23.6 percent refused to reveal, 12.8 percent said they did not know as 15.1 percent said they would not vote for any party.
