{{Macedonia}}{{byline|date=November 15, 2004|location=[[w:Skopje|SKOPJE]]}} [[w:Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia|Prime minister]] [[w:Hari Kostov|Hari Kostov]] of [[Macedonia]] has resigned from his position as of Monday, November 15. The [[w:Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia|Macedonian parliament]] will meet on Thursday to decide whether or not to accept his resignation.

The ''[[BBC]]'' quoted Kostov, who was appointed last May, to have said that "there is no will for genuine teamwork" within the coalition, and that one of the parties in the current government has been promoting [[w:political corruption|corruption]] and [[w:nepotism|nepotism]]. Kostov also claimed that the preoccupation with the rights of [[w:Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia|Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia]] was obstructing economic modernization, according to Reuters. Kostov himself was not a member of any of the coalition's parties.

Kostov's resignation was preceded by a [[w:Macedonian autonomy referendum, 2004|referendum]] organized by the Macedonian opposition, aimed against a decentralisation law which would have given the Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia additional rights. The referendum was declared null and void due to a low turnout. According to the ''[[w:Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]]'', some now fear that [[w:2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia|fights]] between [[w:National Liberation Army (Albanians of Macedonia)|Albanian guerrillas]] and the [[w:Military of the Republic of Macedonia|Macedonian army]], which came to [[w:Ohrid Agreement|a halt]] in 2001, will start again.

== Sources ==
{{wikipedia|Macedonian autonomy referendum, 2004}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4013467.stm
 |title=Macedonia Prime Minister Resigns
 |author=
 |pub=BBC News
 |date=November 15, 2004}}
*{{source|url=http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6814152
 |title=Macedonian PM Quits, Says Reform Drive Not Supported
 |author=
 |pub=Reuters
 |date=November 15, 2004}} {{Source offline}}
*{{source|url=http://www.nos.nl/archief/2005/nieuws/artikelen/2004/11/15/premiermacedonistaptop.html
 |title=Premier Macedonië stapt op
 |author=
 |pub=Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
 |date=November 15, 2004}} {{nl}}

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[[Category:North Macedonia]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Europe]]
Prime minister Hari Kostov of Macedonia has resigned from his position as of Monday, November 15. The Macedonian parliament will meet on Thursday to decide whether or not to accept his resignation.

The BBC quoted Kostov, who was appointed last May, to have said that "there is no will for genuine teamwork" within the coalition, and that one of the parties in the current government has been promoting corruption and nepotism. Kostov also claimed that the preoccupation with the rights of Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia was obstructing economic modernization, according to Reuters. Kostov himself was not a member of any of the coalition's parties.

Kostov's resignation was preceded by a referendum organized by the Macedonian opposition, aimed against a decentralisation law which would have given the Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia additional rights. The referendum was declared null and void due to a low turnout. According to the NOS, some now fear that fights between Albanian guerrillas and the Macedonian army, which came to a halt in 2001, will start again.