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Macedonian Opposition To Boycott Parliament Until Court Rules


Macedonia's main opposition party says it will boycott parliament until the Constitutional Court rules on the status of a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the country's wiretapping scandal.

"The Constitutional Court must immediately give its opinion regarding the special prosecutor," the leader of the Social Democrats, Zoran Zaev, told reporters on June 23.

Zaev said deputies from his party, which holds 34 seats in the 123-seat parliament, would not take part in the work of the legislature until the Constitutional Court gave its opinion.

The office of the special prosecutor was set up under an agreement brokered by the European Union and is not part of the country's constitution, making it possible for those investigated to try to escape prosecution by questioning its legality.

The court has been asked to rule on the matter, but it is not on its calendar yet and it is not clear when a decision might come.

Macedonia has been in a political crisis since February 2015, when opposition parties accused former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his counterintelligence chief of orchestrating the wiretapping of more than 20,000 people.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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