Skopje, 8 April 2024 (MIA) – On day five of the election campaign, presidential candidates continue presenting their election platforms at rallies, public forums, as well as meetings with citizens.  

SDSM and coalition-backed candidate and incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, who is running for a second term in office, will hold a rally in the municipalities of Kisela Voda and Aerodrom in Skopje on Monday. 

VMRO-DPMNE presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova is set to present her election platform in Novaci, Demir Hisar and Bitola. 

European Front’s presidential candidate Bujar Osmani will hold a public forum in the Municipality of Shuto Orizari discussing on equality, consensus and social cohesion. A press conference is also announced after the panel.  

Worth It coalition’s presidential candidate Arben Taravari is set to hold a press conference in the coalition's headquarters.

ZNAM movement presidential candidate Maksim Dimitrievski will present the 'Manifesto for Macedonia' election programme in Ohrid, Debrca, Velmej and Leshani, hold meetings with citizens and also visit several households in the villages of Velmej and Leshani. 

Levica’s presidential candidate Biljana Vankovska continues the presidential campaign holding meetings with citizens in Bogdanci and Gevgelija. 

Presidential hopefuls had several major messages at their rallies and meetings with citizens on Sunday. 

Pendarovski told yesterday's rally in Ohrid that the opposition "de facto" has the same anti-Macedonian positions as Bulgaria and supports all obstructions coming from that side.

"We promised that we will make Macedonia a NATO member, and we did so after 25 years as a candidate state. We also made a huge step forward in the negotiations with the EU, after 17 years in the waiting room we finally launched negotiations. Unfortunately, when we least expected it, our eastern neighbor acted in a completely anti-European way and blocked us on that path. The country could have overcome the challenge of that blockade easily as well, if it didn’t have an opposition which de facto has the same anti-Macedonian positions and supports all obstructions coming from that side," said Pendarovski. 

VMRO-DPMNE’s presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova told a rally in Kochani on Sunday that it’s high time for a responsible government to create a broad team of experts that will identify the issues that the Constitution contains, adding that the Constitution is ripe for changes. 

"I know the Constitution is ripe for changes, and I think it’s high time for a responsible government to create a broad team of experts that will identify the issues it contains. There are things that need to be changed so that we can have a stable and functional country, strong institutions and weak individuals, otherwise democracy is under threat. I should be one of those who will change things," Siljanovska-Davkova said. 

During his campaign activities of Sunday, ZNAM Movement’s presidential candidate Maksim Dimitrievski said Macedonia must continue its Euro-integration path, but not at all costs, because we must join the European Union with our head held high, as Macedonians and as a separate nation. 

Dimitrievski pledged to be a president of all citizens. He said he would propose that the political entities from both the government and opposition sign a national platform on Macedonian national interests.

“I will work on the concept of establishing an independent body of experts from the European Union, who apart from analyzing all judgement [of the European Court of Human Rights] in Strasbourg against Bulgaria regarding the lack of rights of the Macedonian organizations there, would also work on the negotiating framework, aided by domestic experts, in order to adapt it to the generally acceptable social circumstances in Macedonia, in accordance with the wishes of the Macedonian citizens,” Dimitrievski said. 

At Sunday's rally in Tetovo, Levica presented the election program 'Restoring the nation's dignity' of its presidential candidate Biljana Vankovska, who said she was against including the Bulgarians in the Constitution and noted that her opponents were avoiding face-offs which was unbecoming of a democracy.    

Photo: MIA archive