The early parliamentary elections will be held on 5 June, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski after SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski announced earlier that they would not boycott the elections.

“SDSM is going to participate in the early parliamentary elections without any demands, according to the election rules and on the date that VMRO-DPMNE defines,” Crvenkovski said before his fellow party members Wednesday.

Immediately after Crvenkovski’s statement, Gruevski revealed the election date, asking why the leader of the opposition held Macedonian hostage for four months with diverse demands and conditions.

“After setting dozens of demands and conditions and after we accepted them all, Branko Crvenkovski “courageously” said he accepted the elections. Why did he waste so much time and had to torture the whole public and the international community and put at risk the recommendation from the EU for opening accession talks? After all Macedonian and Albanian parties showed signals that they would run in the elections and that his politics has no perspective, he is trying to present his debacle as a victory. And we should all faint now out of exuberance over his decision. You are not convincing, Branko,” Gruevski said.

VMRO-DPMNE did not say Wednesday if they would accept SDSM’s demand that the government and the opposition should appoint two representatives each to the election committees. Gruevski had earlier said he would accept that demand provided that SDSM participated in the elections. It is uncertain if SDSM’s demand that a votes’ list be reviewed by a inter-party commission within 30 days will be accepted either and whether the government campaigns will stop the day the elections are called. Gruevski offered Crvenkovski that option in exchange for the demand that a law on even distribution of money for government campaigns be passed.

Crvenkovski said Gruevski did not want fair and democratic elections and therefore he did all he could to force the opposition to a boycott. We are not going to give him that pleasure, he said, and therefore SDSM is going to withdraw all its demands and participate in the elections.

“We are not returning to Parliament and we are no longer going to conduct any talks with VMRO-DPMNE and the government. Mr. Gruevski, pass whatever election law you wish, compile whatever voters’ list you desire and spend as much budget money as you like to advertise yourselves in the media. Tell us only the date of the elections and we are there. You, with your law, your voters’ list, your media, your 220 million euros for buying votes on the one hand and us with the people on the other,” Crvenkovski said.

The prime minister and leader of VMRO-DPMNE is convinced that in these elections citizens are going to choose progress instead of transition. He stressed that over the past four months times was wasted, while the irresponsible conduct and spread of hatred and destruction did a great deal of harm to Macedonia.

“Macedonia has no alternative to moving forward. Fair and democratic elections will be held and those who try to impede that will be severely punished,” Gruevski said.

After Gruevski suggested that the early elections should be held on 5 June, SDSM replied they accepted any date. However, they believe it is interesting that Gruevski offered the date that BDI leader Ahmeti suggested at the leaders’ meetings.

“BDI said 5 June suited them most because that was their party’s birthday. This is yet another concession from Gruevski to BDI,” SDSM officials said.