North Macedonia's prime minister resigns

BELGRADE, Serbia

North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced his resignation on Friday morning.

The country is receiving a technical, the so-called "caretaker", government on Saturday, whose term will last until April 12, when early parliamentary elections are set to be held.

The caretaker government, as required by law, is formed 100 days before the election, and because of this deadline, Zaev had announced at the end of October that he would resign on January 3, 2020.

Zaev's resignation should be accepted at the assembly for the process to start.

"I expect a procedure to start in the day and a technical government to be elected," Zaev said.

He stressed that he expected the whole process to go smoothly, recalling that the system of electing a government in the technical mandate had been simplified in 2016.

After Zaev's resignation is accepted, the head of the assembly will inform the President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, who should appoint prime minister for the technical mandate.

Oliver Spasovski, the current interior minister, is expected to be appointed prime minister in the caretaker government mandate.

Spasovski was proposed by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia and supported by the opposition Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization -- Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity.

Spasovski said that he will form an interim government with the opposition and expects a new candidate for his former position.

Following a decision by the EU to delay the start of accession negotiations with North Macedonia, political leaders in the country agreed to hold early parliamentary elections.