The mayor of Karpoš, Sotir Lukrovski, is nowhere to be found. His sick leave expired on May 29, but he hasn't shown up to work since, nor offered any public explanation. A municipality with tens of thousands of residents is left without a visible head - and no one is officially saying what's going on.

The opposition SDSM, through its Karpoš representative Pance Milevski, is demanding answers. "To this day he hasn't appeared at his workplace, nor have the residents of Karpoš received a clear explanation for his absence," Milevski says. The party also asks why Lukrovski keeps drawing a salary while not performing his duties, and demands that he either return to work or resign and trigger a new election.

Prime Minister Mickoski reportedly said the mayor needs rest. Maybe so - everyone has a right to their health and their privacy, and it isn't fair to speculate about someone's illness. But the office of mayor isn't a private matter; it's a public responsibility the citizens voted for.

And here's the knot. If the man is ill, that deserves understanding, not gossip. But an institution can't be left hanging in the air for weeks with no one saying who's running it and until when. The people of Karpoš aren't asking for anyone's medical chart - they're just asking to know who signs, who decides, and whom to turn to while their elected mayor stays invisible.