Gruevski to keep his MP term, but without salary

A lawmaker who has been sentenced to a maximum of six months in prison will lose the right to salary and other benefits. That is the essence of the changes of the Law on MPs that were submitted this morning after an urgent procedure in parliament and were immediately added to the agenda of today’s session.

Proposers of amendments are a group of MPs from the ruling majority. If the law is adopted this will mean that former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will lose the right to a parliamentary salary, who has sought political asylum in Hungary right after he was sentenced to two years in prison for the “Tank” case.

The parliamentary majority then did not provide two-thirds support for the deprivation of Gruevski’s term, who was only deprived of his immunity at the request of the Criminal Court for five other cases of the SPO that are being prosecuted against him.

The court ordered detention for the former prime minister on several grounds, which would come into force after his possible return to the country. After the escape, the parliament only made the decision that Gruevski should be considered as unjustifiably absent in parliament and have five percent cut of the salary after three consecutive absences.

The possibility of depriving Gruevski of his term could be reopened when he completes six months since his escape to Hungary – in November last year. But even then, it will take a two-thirds majority to seize his term because he was unjustifiably absent from the post for six months.