In the debate on the early elections planned for April 2016, the VMRO-DPMNE party came with a new proposal on Sunday, suggesting to replace the proportional representation system with a first-past-the-post majority system, but also adding a buffer of 17 additional seats in Parliament to whichever party wins the most votes to ensure political stability. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski made the proposal on Sunday, days after the opposition Social Democrat Union (SDSM) came out in favor of a proportional representation system with a single electoral district.

Macedonia currently elects its Parliament with the proportional system, dividing the country in six regions, each worth 20 seats, and three regions for the Macedonians living abroad, each worth 1 seat. The system has been in place since the elections of 2002. The previous elections, in 1998, had a mixed model where 35 representatives were elected proportionately, but there were also 85 districts in which the candidate who won the most votes won the race.

"Many countries around the world are using the majority model successfully, and we are using it to elect municipal mayors, as well as the members of Parliament from the Diaspora. So, we have plenty of experience with this model, we have used it in the past, and therefore our party suggests that we should adopt a majority model, which will allow the personality of the individual candidates to become more prominent in the elections", Gruevski said.

Critics of the proportional system in Macedonia have said that it gives too much power to the party leaders, who usually are the ones who decide who is nominated on the list. While different solutions were being proposed on how to make the individual candidates have a stronger mandate relative to the party leadership, the proposal for a majority system was only recently raised by VMRO-DPMNE.

Gruevski added that Macedonia would also need a system that provides for political stability and said that VMRO-DPMNE supports an idea to give additional 17 seats to whichever party wins the elections. This would be a variation of the system in Greece, where the winning party gets extra support to ensure forming a stable Government.

"SDSM claims they will win the next elections. They are free to say whatever they want, but if they really believe that they will win then we are offering them a law which will guarantee that the winning party will get additional 17 seats once the elections are over. This will allow the party to form a stable Government and will take away any excuse why it has not accomplished much in the way of its promises. This will guarantee a stable four year term, prevent blackmails from the smaller parties, ensure stability in the country and allow the Government to focus on solving the issues of the day", Gruevski said.

Macedonia held three early elections in the past nine years, caused by different reasons, and is heading for a fourth round in April 2016, now caused by the wiretapping affair. The parties are currently meeting behind closed doors to discuss amending the election laws, the authority of the Election Commission and the way the voting lists are being prepared.