Albanian opposition bloc blocks the lectern — Dauti demands a written response from Mickoski

The session for parliamentary questions in the Assembly ended with a series of procedural blockades after members of the Albanian opposition bloc occupied the lectern. The trigger was the failure to receive a written response from Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski to a question Ilire Dauti had posed orally at the previous session, even though the Rules of Procedure provide a 20-day deadline for a written reply.

In practice, at today's session only one parliamentary question managed to be asked — that of SDSM MP Venko Filipche — while Albanian opposition MPs replaced the usual order with a series of procedural objections and physical presence in front of the podium until they receive a written answer.

Dauti demanded suspension and a written answer

Ilire Dauti took the lectern and asked the Speaker of the Assembly to request that the Prime Minister deliver a written response to her.

– I did not receive even a written response from Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, even though I asked the question orally. The 20-day deadline to receive an answer is not being respected. The Prime Minister and the ministers are obliged to provide a written response. You, as Speaker of the Assembly, should ask him to answer me. I propose that the session be suspended, because it makes no sense for MPs to ask questions if the Government does not answer us. This session should be suspended, MP Dauti demanded.

Speaker Afrim Gashi assessed that the procedure is in order and said he would request a written response, announcing that he would involve the Committee on Rules of Procedure to resolve the dispute.

– The Prime Minister is present; he will surely answer you, and I will request that you be provided with a written response, Gashi said.

Afterwards, Venko Filipche raised a question about water pollution, poverty and corruption and used his time to deliver sharp criticisms of the government. He said, among other things:

– Incompetence and the lies with which you govern are coming to light. Not even the strong PR you are doing helps — the masks have fallen. Water is polluted in half the country. Whose responsibility is it, who is in charge of control and why was it not reported? Why do you not publish the water test results in Gostivar? People are confused. You did not answer what happened with Lepenec. Your stories about standard of living are falling apart. Eurostat confirmed that we are last in Europe by standard of living; we are at the bottom and the worst part is that there are no policies on how to improve. Corrupt practices continue and the latest European Commission report points out that there is direct influence of the executive on the judiciary. You threaten with prison, with bars — believe me, no one fears you, you are ridiculous. You poisoned us and divided people into traitors and patriots, and you said that protocols were part of the framework only to admit a few days later that everything you said was not true. You are deliberately blocking the path to the EU. It has come out publicly from Hungary that the Hungarian loan will be investigated. We warned you: why are you taking one billion euros of questionable money? Who is to blame for these things? Citizens know that you bear the responsibility for all these matters, Filipche said.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski replied and called on the Prosecutor's Office to deal with the allegations from earlier reports; in response to Filipche he said:

– I would like to respond to a few theses of Filipche. Abusing the lectern, he tried to talk about several matters. Regarding the Hungarian loan — the very fact that the news came out of Hungary that a loan was given on preferential terms and that an investigation is being opened shows that as a state we secured the cheapest funds. I thought you would praise us that the state made such an arrangement, and instead you come out and accuse us, Mickoski said.

– I can list many such reports. There is a whole bundle regarding Gostivar and its surroundings. You were a minister during that period. Not only did modular hospitals burn, but as a doctor you did not adhere to the oath. You allowed people to consume water which, to say the least, posed a health risk to those who consumed it, the Prime Minister said.

The discussions over the procedural question escalated into interparty arguments. Nikola Micevski of VMRO-DPMNE sharply criticized the actions, saying:

– The Rules of Procedure that we all adopted and applauded are being abused. Now a show is being made out of procedural requests. A procedural motion is for incorrect application of the Rules, and you are using procedural motions to respond to the Prime Minister, to people who are not here — so you are persistently abusing the Rules of Procedure. The colleague is requesting an answer to a question that should be answered in writing. You will receive the answer and that's that! You cannot block the session for parliamentary questions. The leader of the largest opposition party cannot pronounce whether he is satisfied with the Prime Minister's answer. If you have questions — ask them, but don't put on a show while 120 MPs listen to you, Micevski said.

In the end, Speaker Gashi announced that he would invite the Committee on Rules of Procedure to resolve the disputed application of deadlines and obligations for written answers, while MP Dauti remained at the lectern and insisted that her demand be fulfilled before the session continued.

Photo: Sloboden Pechat / Dragan Mitreski