Skopje, 30 July 2022 (MIA) – VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said Saturday consultations with experts and within the party on the referendum question converge to what President Stevo Pendarovski has said, with the party favoring a mandatory referendum. “We are close to the content he stated in public and I expect Pendarovski to come out and say if he will vote, of course according to his own conviction, under these conditions or the ones favored by VMRO-DMNE and some other parties,” Mickoski told reporters. In a recent interview, President Pendarovski said the referendum announced by the opposition should ask the question: “Do you want to join the EU under these conditions?” Mickoski urged all political parties, including the opposition ones from the Albanian bloc, the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, universities, religious communities to give their support, while expressing readiness to meet with Government officials or at a leaders’ meeting over the referendum question. He is convinced that ruling SDSM and DUI would like to see the referendum fail by not reaching the 50-percent turnout threshold. “We favor a mandatory referendum. We want to see as many people as possible coming out and giving their vote. If the authorities decide not to boycott and prevent the referendum, I am convinced it will be successful,” said Mickoski. He added the party would collect the required 150,000 signatures for a referendum on whether the citizens want to join the EU under the current conditions, considering the signing of the recent protocol with Bulgaria.