Macedonian President to Give Mandate to VMRO-DPMNE Party to Form Gov't Monday

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on Monday will give the conservative Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) the right to form the new country's cabinet, local media reported.

BELGRADE (Sputnik) — Ivanov is expected to give the mandate to the VMRO-DPMNE, after it won in the parliamentary election in December.

According to the MRT broadcaster, the Monday ceremony is set to take place in the country's parliament building, after which the party will have a 20-day period to form a government.

According to the Macedonian State Election Commission (SEC) the parliamentary election held on December 11 resulted in slight lead of the VMRO-DPMNE, which secured 51 seats while the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) received 49. At the same time, there are 120 seats in the country's parliament, thus the VMRO-DPMNE needs support of minor parties to create a majority in the legislative body.