Uncertain re-election of Bogov


The re-election of Dimitar Bogov as governor of the NBRM is uncertain, after President Gjorge Ivanov decided to propose him for a second term in office, without consulting the parties that have the necessary 61 votes in parliament, according to the information.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, as the leader of SDSM, pointed out yesterday that he was basically surprised when he heard that Ivanov had submitted the proposal for Bogov’s re-election to the parliament. Zaev said that he had a meeting with Ivanov on other issues, which included, among other things, the filling of the governor’s seat.

“I have stated my views. I expected another meeting on this issue because I am the president of the party that leads the parliamentary majority. If not with me, I expected that he would at least consult with the coordinators of the parliamentary groups. But on Monday I heard that Ivanov had already prepared the proposal,” Zaev said.

Today he announced the coordination with the parliamentary majority, which should result in a final position that will be communicated to the public.
“It is rare to hear the opinions of the deputies who need to decide on the choice of a governor. For me, it is most important to enable the independence of the NBRM and a stable course,” Zaev said.

The Secretary General of SDSM and MP Aleksandar Kiracoski came out earlier with a similar statement for our newspaper.
“For the time being we do not want to comment, and we will announce our official the position on Wednesday,” said Kiracoski.
The nomination of Bogov is unacceptable to DUI, whose parliamentary group does not believe that the incumbent governor will be re-elected to office.
“It is unlikely that Bogov will be re-elected as governor. Ivanov’s proposal is another one of his hasty, uncoordinated and unilateral decisions, which makes cohabitation very difficult,” says DUI MP Artan Grubi.

Grubi points out that prior to the proposal Ivanov should have consulted with parliamentary parties, including parties from the majority.
DUI showed interest in the governor’s seat for the former minister in several departments Fatmir Besimi, for which, as was said, in principle, there was a certain consent from SDSM. In addition, in 2011, when DUI was in coalition with VMRO-DPMNE, it was against Bogov to be elected governor, because Ivanov did not consult his proposal on other parliamentary parties. Then, DUI left the session where it was voted for Bogov, who was elected only by the votes of the VMRO-DPMNE MPs, whose parliamentary group numbered 62 members at the time.
VMRO-DPMNE is expected to support Ivanov’s proposal. However, about 45 parliamentary votes, as currently controlled by the largest opposition party, are not enough for Bogov to get another term.

Bogov is in the last twenty days of his first term after the May 23, 2011 election. If in the following days the proposal of Ivanov is not placed on the agenda of a parliamentary session, and if Bogov is not re-elected to the position, the NBRM is likely to be left without a governor for a certain period of time. In such a case, if in the meantime Ivanov does not submit a new proposal – one that would be acceptable to the parliamentary majority – the governor’s office would remain vacant until the election of a new president of the state, who would take office on May 10, 2019. (A.M.M.)