Stevo Pendarovski, North Macedonia’s President, declared late on Monday the eight-day-long state of emergency to enable the general elections on July 15 and secure the undisturbed preparations for the vote with the implementation of all protective measures amid an increase in the number of the coronavirus cases in the country, the news agencies reported.

Pendarovski said he expected the early elections “to be fair, free and democratic and in line with the country’s European perspective.”

Earlier, the vote was scheduled for April 12 but was postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic.

North Macedonia has been led by an interim government for six months after former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigned in a protest of the European Union failure to set a date for opening the accession talks with Skopje.

The EU later decided to start the talks, as soon as the negotiating framework was decided on.

The number of coronavirus cases in the country of less than two million population reached 4,160, with 193 deaths.

Only on Monday, 103 new cases were diagnosed.