Macedonian lawmakers voted Monday to dissolve parliament next month ahead of an early election in late April, in line with an EU-backed deal to end a political crisis but without the agreement of the main opposition. The parliament of the Balkan country voted to dissolve itself on February 24, after noting the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who was required to step down 100 days ahead of a vote in accordance with the deal. The agreement reached in July last year between the government and the opposition was designed to end months of turmoil in the country of about 2.1 million people.