Page 12 - bne_newspaper_October_26_2018

Southeast Europe
October 26, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
Macedonia’s opposition VMRO-DPMNE in disarray after losing name deal vote
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
Macedonia’s main opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, decided late on October 22 to expel ex-intelligence chief Saso Mijalkov, a cousin of former prime min- ister Nikola Gruevski, and former health minister Nikola Todorov. The two were accused of persuad- ing opposition MPs to vote for constitutional chang- es related to the name deal with Greece.
Macedonia’s parliament gave the green light late on October 19 to the constitutional changes, which include changing the country’s name to North Mac- edonia. The move will unblock Macedonia’s Euro- Atlantic integration, which has been stalled for many years, but it is strongly opposed by VMRO. However, eight opposition MPs voted for the changes, giving the government the needed two-thirds majority.
Several of the opposition MPs who backed the changes are accused of involvement in the par- liament violence in April 2017 or of other crimi- nal deeds. Both Mijalkov and Todorov are facing criminal charges.
The decision to expel Mijalkov and Todorov was taken at a meeting of VMRO’s central committee at a time when Macedonia’s biggest opposition party is deeply divided about its future strategy. The leadership was angered by MPs who voted yes. But while some support current party leader Hristijan Mickoski, others, who say they are re- formists, seek his dismissal. This has divided the party into several factions.
At the “historic” meeting, as the leadership says, the party decided to "clear" the party and asked municipal committees to launch disciplinary
VMRO-DPMNE deputy president Aleksandar Nikolovski announces plans to expel Saso Mijalkov and Nikola Todorov.
procedures to exclude Mijalkov and Todorov. They are accused of collaborating with Social Democrat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to secure the eight op- position votes.
VMRO’s central committee also expressly expelled the party’s deputy president Mitko Jancev and ex- ecutive committee member Konstadin Bogdanov for the same reasons, the statement released on October 23 said.
Furthermore, the central committee wants the eight MPs who voted for the constitutional chang- es to return their mandates, saying they worked contrary to the will of citizens.
“VMRO-DPMNE is putting an end to the past and is strongly moving forward as a reformed party and only with the idea of Macedonia,” the party’s deputy president Aleksandar Nikolovski said in the statement.
Bribery allegations
The eight have been accused of taking bribes. The Central Committee called on the Public Prosecu- tor's Office to investigate allegations of pressures, threats, blackmail and bribery of MPs to persuade them to vote for the constitutional changes.
MPs who voted yes denied the allegations, saying they believed they were doing the right thing for the country.
Former culture minister from VMRO, Elizabeta Kancevska Mileska, who voted yes in the parlia- ment and also faces criminal charges, said on a TV