Macedonian ministers resign amid political crisis

Two Macedonian ministers and a senior state security official had resigned over a deep political crisis in the country, the government said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had accepted the resignation applications of Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska, Transport Minister Mile Janakieski, and Director of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence Saso Mijalkov, government spokesperson Aleksandar Gjorgiev told Xinhua.

"The government already sent proposals for appointing new ministers. Mitko Chavkov, who was the chief of the Bureau for Security, is planned to take over the ministerial spot at the Ministry of Interior, and Vlado Misajlovski, state secretary for foreign affairs, is proposed as Minister for Transport and Communications," Gjorgiev said.

The parliament will convene to discuss the new proposed ministers at a Wednesday session, while the person to replace Mijalkov, who is also Gruevski's cousin, has not been selected yet.

The resignations came after the Macedonian opposition published audios from wiretapped phone calls between high-ranking officials containing allegations for their involvement in corruption, election fraud and misuse of power.

Zoran Zaev, leader of the opposition party the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), said the resignations only proved that the audios from the wiretapped phone calls were authentic, adding that they revealed "criminal behavior of high-ranking officials."

The opposition was preparing a rally Sunday to protest the government's misuse of power and demand its resignation. Endi