After eight hours of EU-brokered talks, political leaders in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) have come to an initial deal on early elections.<br /><br /> A candidate for European Union membership, the former Yugoslav Republic will go to the polls by the end of April 2016, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for EU Enlargement, confirmed.<br /><br /> The last election, in 2014, saw Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski originally re-elected to a new, five-year mandate.<br /><br /> Commissioner Hahn alluded to potential changes to the electoral code and the importance of respect for minority rights. He added:<br /><br /> “It will be further important to accept all the recommendations being given by the European Commission when it comes to the independence of the judiciary.”<br /><br /> The agreement between the heads of the country’s four main political parties – which included politicians from the nation’s ethnic Albanian minority – could see an end to months of political unrest sparked by revelations the government illegally collec
