People walk in a street in Bitola city, 180 km south of capital Skopje, North Macedonia, June 15, 2020. As of Monday, the health ministry reported 103 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 4,157, with 1,723 recoveries and 193 fatalities. (Photo by Tomislav Georgiev/Xinhua)
SKOPJE, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Party leaders in North Macedonia reached an agreement to hold early parliamentary elections on July 15, local media reported on Monday.
The early parliamentary polls were scheduled for April 12 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Stevo Pendarovski welcomed the agreement between Zoran Zaev of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and Hristijan Mickoski of the VMRO-DPMNE.
Pendarovski said it's "another indicator that every mature democracy requires political dialogue that results in coordinated decisions in the people's interest," according to a press release from the President's Office.
The agreement was also welcomed by the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, who tweeted: "This agreement paves the way towards free, fair and inclusive elections, to be observed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)."
Last October, political parties reached an agreement for the April 12 snap parliamentary elections after the country's bid for the accession negotiation with the EU was denied.
Zaev resigned as prime minister in January. Since then, North Macedonia has been run by a caretaker cabinet.
As of Monday, the health ministry reported 103 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 4,157, with 1,723 recoveries and 193 fatalities.
