A probe has been launched into Macedonian opposition leader Zoran Zaev's alleged involvement in a bribery scheme, the country's Interior Ministry has said.

Authorities are trying to find out whether Zaev, who is also the mayor Strumica (a city in Macedonia's east), asked a local citizen for EUR 200 000 to allow the privatization of a municipal plot. A statement on the Interior Ministry's website [MA] claims the man, whose identity is not revealed, offered EUR 2 per square meter.

This comes in times of mutual accusations that the government in Skopje and Zaev's opposition SDSM party have been throwing at one another in the past few months.

Zaev has repeatedly accused the cabinet of PM Nikola Gruevski of exerting political control over institutions, media outlets and the judicial system, while Gruevski maintains the opposition was involved in a coup d'etat plotted with the assistance of a foreign intelligence service.

The opposition has released a series of recordings allegedly providing evidence for its claims. The last recordings were "presented" on Tuesday night

Meanwhile Zaev called on Wednesday for the government's resignation. Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik quotes him as saying the country urgently needs an interim government and new free and democratic election.

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