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| - North Macedonia's Social Democrats are set to return to power after striking a deal Tuesday with ethnic Albanian partners, who will get the chance to fill the Prime Minister seat for 100 days in a first for the Balkan state. The alliance comes after the Social Democrats, led by ex-premier Zoran Zaev, narrowly beat out right-wing rivals in a July election but failed to secure enough seats to form a government on their own. Under the agreement Zaev, who has put the Balkan country on an EU-path, will retake office for a full term before letting the DUI, a party that represents the Albanian minority, choose a new premier for the 100 days before the next election, expected to take place in 2024. It would be the first time the Albanian minority, who make up around a quarter of North Macedonia's two million population and have at times been a target of nationalists, holds top office. "I'm proud that we succeeded in reaching a coalition agreement according to which I will have the honour of leading the future Macedonian government for a full four-year mandate," said Zaev. "The state will continue to be safe, secure, progressive, successful," he added. DUI's leader Ali Ahmeti, who had originally been demanding an Albanian Prime Minister for a full term, also celebrated the outcome and congratulated Zaev on his "courage". The two men exchanged kind words in a U-turn from the criticisms they levelled at each other during the campaign and a period of tense coalition talks. An alliance of other Albanian parties, however, criticised thine deal and said they would boycott parliament, expressing distrust in both the Social Democrats and the DUI, which has been a junior partner in governments for the most of the past two decades. After Zaev presents a new cabinet to parliament, the body has 15 days to approve it. The July election was the first since Zaev's party added "North" to its name early last year, winning international praise for ending a long-running dispute with Greece. The accord ushered the country into NATO and helped secure its status as an EU candidate country. But it deepened fault lines in the polarised society, angering critics on the right who felt robbed of their national identity. str-ssm/bsp
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