Zaev: Citizens won’t allow another authoritarianism


Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in an interview for Civil Media said that he believed in reconciliation, sharing his optimism regarding the outcome of current political processes.

While saying it’s a good thing that President Gjorge Ivanov’s term is ending because Macedonia needs a president who supports the country’s on its way to prosperity, Zaev pledged that SDSM’s candidate to run for office will be a highly responsible person working towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
Describing the Prespa Agreement as historic, he pointed out that Macedonia has managed to leave behind a decade of irresponsible rule and corruption permeating all its segments.
“From a ‘captured state’,” PM Zaev noted, “the country has made a leap that the entire Western world has recognized; implemented reforms to revitalize democracy and restore people’s trust in institutions, and laid the groundwork for economic growth and development.”
The country has been responsible in recognizing its geostrategic position, as well, and made a commitment to contribute to regional stability.
“This is a point of no return,” PM Zaev said. “Any attempt to stop these processes and impede the country’s progress will be unsuccessful because citizens won’t let authoritarianism happen ever again.
“We should also bear in mind we’re in a region of fragile stability.”
Commenting on laws published in the Official Gazette without the signature of President Ivanov, PM Zaev said it was fully constitutional, an act of responsibility and necessity that removed the President’s obstructions to parliamentary democracy.
“As Article 51 of the Constitution states,” PM Zaev said, “everyone is equal before the Constitution and the laws, including the President of the country.”
“Publishing the laws put an end to a tendency that a ceremonial act by the President could block the entire system. The President is not a legislative body or a Constitutional Court,” Zaev noted in the interview.