Election Date Deal Talks Intensifying

Talks to reach an election date deal are intensifying, but there has been no progress so far. The Government will most likely decide on Friday whether it will ask for the state of emergency to be extended, while the Security Council will make the decision on Saturday afternoon. According to caretaker PM Oliver Spasovski, if analyses show that there is need to extend it by several days to deal with the economic consequences, it will be done. The three leaders, DUI’s Ali Ahmeti, VMRO-DPMNE’s Hristijan Mickoski, and SDSM’s Zoran Zaev are in constant communication. The ruling structure is trying to lock 5 July as a date, but the opposition still hasn’t responded positively. On Thursday, Zaev once again reiterated his stand that elections should be held as soon as possible. Deputy PM for European Affairs Bujar Osmani, who’s a member of DUI, said a deal was possible, considering the parties’ positions.