Skopje, 29 September 2025 (MIA) - “First a human, then a mayor” is the slogan with which VMRO-DPMNE's candidate for mayor of Skopje, Orce Gjorgjievski, will run in the local elections. At a press conference Monday, Gjorgjievski presented his election program titled “Vision for Skopje 2025-2045”, which he said is backed by his team of expert collaborators.

The program is based on seven main pillars, which Gjorgjievski described as “the foundations of our city’s future,” through which “the urban era begins that will transform Skopje into a European metropolis”: 1. Sustainable urban development over the next 20 years; 2. A healthy environment; 3. Complete communal renewal of the city; 4. Restoration of Skopje’s cultural identity; 5. Digital transformation and smart solutions; 6. Skopje – a city for youth and science; 7. Strengthening public care and safety. VMRO-DPMNE's mayoral candidate said hundreds of projects would emerge from the seven pillars.

Gjorgjievski said he would establish an international board of global experts and cooperate with the universities in Torino, Thessaloniki, Ljubljana, as well as with local experts selected through a public call to draft a 20-year plan – a vision for the capital which, he said, would integrate urbanism, mobility, green infrastructure, energy efficiency, resource management, social inclusion, and preservation of cultural legacy. The goal, he said, is to create “an open, competitive, and healthy city”.

The program foresees the restoration of the post of city architect, and the establishment of a council of urban development “to serve as a guarantee for European standards in urbanism”, as well as a “Urban Center Skopje” public enterprise which would develop planning documents in a professional and transparent manner. “Every new building to be constructed will be subject to a public call, and that will mean,” he said, “fair competition, quality, and best solutions for Skopje”.

“’Vision 2025-2045’ is not just an election program, it is a roadmap for the future, a plan that isn’t measured in terms but in generations. A vision that will leave stable foundations and create a new face for the city which we will hand over to future generations with pride. By 2045 I see Skopje as a city that breathes through its green corridors, as a city that moves with environmental and integrated transport solutions, as well as a city that lives through the public spaces that belong to the citizens again. This isn’t just a construction plan, it is a model for a new way of living, tailored precisely to you, the people,” Gjorgjievski said about his election program, adding that with it “the chaos of uncontrolled and harmful construction, as we currently have, will come to an end”. 

Gjorgjievski said “the humanization” of the capital will be his priority, noting the first thing he would do upon becoming mayor would be to clean the city in 72 hours “through a large, coordinated action in all municipalities”.

“The situation in Skopje is added motivation for me, to turn this ruined state of the city into something we can all be proud of together. I have a serious team, an excellent councilor list, and experts, both local and international, ready to begin implementing each of the program’s pillars in a very short time. Skopje needs fundamental changes, and I am prepared to give my all, to spare nothing, and to invest every last atom so that my people finally get the city and metropolis they deserve. This is not a task for experimentation, we’ve seen how costly experiments can be. As Skopje residents, we’ve lived in agony for a long time, facing problems that prevent me from talking about amusement parks today, because instead we’re talking about cleaning up waste, about mini-dumps in front of every school and kindergarten. First, we must solve the problems that have plagued the people for years, create basic humane living conditions fit for the 21st century, and then we’ll focus on all the projects that will transform Skopje into a modern European capital,” said Gjorgjievski.

Gjorgjievski pointed to his experience as mayor of Kisela Voda, which he said he had transformed into a transparent and well-organized municipality with serious results and without dividing the citizens. The VMRO-DPMNE candidate promised balanced development of the capital, accessibility for all citizens regardless of their affiliations, openness to cooperation and acceptance of good projects from his campaign opponents, and responsible and dedicated execution of tasks by the employees of the City of Skopje once he becomes mayor.

Photo: MIA