North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has resigned after his party’s disappointing election results in the municipal elections.

According to Zaev, there is no need to hold early parliamentary elections due to his resignation. He says the current coalition can elect a new prime minister.

His Social Democratic Party, SDSM, lost heavy losses, according to the results of the first elections. In at least half of the 80 municipalities, the profits will go to the center-right party VMRO-DPMNE. SDSM is said to have won in less than 20 municipalities and also lost in the capital Skopje. Official election results are expected later today.

changing the name

Zaev has been prime minister of the country then called Macedonia since 2017. In 2018, he agreed with neighboring Greece to change the country’s name to Macedonia so that the country would not have the same name as the Greek province of Macedonia. The name change was also a condition of eligibility for membership in NATO and the European Union.

Ze’ev promised his voters to stop the Corona epidemic and find a solution to the economic repercussions of the Corona crisis. He also promised to make progress in negotiations on future EU membership. According to his constituents, he could not adequately fulfill these promises.