The parliament of North Macedonia on Sunday elected Talat Xhaferi as the interim prime minister, making it the first time for an ethnic Albanian to head the government of a Balkan country.
Out of 120 MPs, 65 MPs voted for Jaferi. The largest opposition party, the conservative VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity), did not participate in the vote.
“I will stand for ethnic balance and harmony between communities,” Jafferi told MPs.
He represents the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), the largest Albanian party that has been a government coalition partner for more than 20 years.
Of North Macedonia’s 1.8 million inhabitants, a quarter are Albanians.
Also previously, representatives of the Albanian community have been elected and appointed to high state positions, but this is the first time that an Albanian is in the position of head of the government.
Jafferi was previously the defense minister, but he was the speaker of the parliament for six years.
Jaferi will lead the government for 100 days until the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 8.
2024-01-28 20:49:35
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