site.btaPresidential Election Campaign Debates in North Macedonia Focus on Constitutional Changes

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) Chair Dimitar Kovacevski and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski met on the eve of the start of the election campaign for the presidential elections in North Macedonia in what was essentially a two-hour pre-election debate in the Channel 5 television studio.

The leaders of the two largest parties in the country debated in support of their candidates for the presidential post, Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska, as well as on the European path of the country, the relations with the neighbouring countries and the economic highlights in the programmes of the two parties for the upcoming elections.

Both reiterated their differing views related to the condition in the negotiating framework with the EU which requires the inclusion of Bulgarians in the country's Constitution. Kovacevski said that voting on these changes is something that the country's Parliament should do, because the European Union is "the only chance for changes in the country." Mickoski stressed that changes in the Constitution "under Bulgarian dictation" will not be voted on.

North Macedonia's Parliament backed the country's negotiating framework, voting by a simple majority to committing the country's government to start negotiations with the EU. MPs from VMRO-DPMNE were not present in the hall during the vote, but during its discussion they made noise and interfered with the speeches in the hall.

Kovacevski said that VMRO-DPMNE can only give lectures about the past, and pointed out that SDSM, unlike VMRO-DPMNE, has a plan for the future of the country, which includes voting on changes to the constitution, ending negotiations with the EU by 2028 and ultimately membership in the EU. 

After the start of the presidential election campaign, Mickoski called the French EU Council Presidency's proposal concerning the unblocking of Skopje's EU accession, not a great success, bur a "noose around the neck". He argued that it created quarrels and strife and allowed Bulgaria to "look at North Macedonia and the historical VMRO as part of its history", while its actually "the main element of North Macedonia's history, which in itself shows that the two countries have a different history".

In the TV 21 studio, Bujar Osmani, nominated by the European Front coalition, around the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), and Arben Taravari, nominated by the Albanian opposition parties presented their election programmes.

Arben Taravari said that there is a gentleman's agreement with DUI Chair Ali Ahmeti that no Albanian party will enter a government that does not guarantee the adoption of changes to the constitution.