North Macedonia: ZNAM leader Dimitrievski warns of coalition exit over non-Macedonian judicial exam language

Maksim Dimitrievski, leader of the ZNAM movement, said his party will not accept a judicial exam conducted in any language other than Macedonian. He added that ZNAM is ready to leave the ruling coalition if the government decides otherwise. Dimitrievski said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski is aware of the party's position but that ZNAM is ready to discuss the issue within the coalition.

In an interview with Sitel television, Dimitrievski said he will ask for a leaders' meeting with coalition partners at his next meeting with the prime minister. He said his aim is to put the issue openly on the table, define all red lines and explain what it would mean for the state and the judicial system.

Dimitrievski argued that demands to expand the use of Albanian in this area are linked to broader political goals, and claimed that some forces want the state to turn 'from a republic into a confederation'. He said the demands were being raised in public in a 'very naive' way and that they contradict the Venice Commission's 2019 recommendations on using a language other than Macedonian in the judiciary. He stressed that neither he nor his party would allow the state to be made more complicated.