Skopje, 29 October 2025 (MIA) - Bilall Kasami, one of Vlen’s leaders and candidate for reelection as Mayor of Tetovo, said Wednesday a statement he previously made in support of DUI’s candidate in Kichevo, Fatmir Dehari, instead of coalition partner VMRO-DPMNE's candidate, Aleksandar Jovanovski, was misinterpreted because, he said, Vlen’s opponents tried to play the ethnic card in this election. He does not see Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski’s response to the statement as a “warning”, noting that the statement was taken out of context.

Kasami said the context and the media outlet where he made the statement should be considered, as well as the circumstances in which it was then reported. “With that,” he stressed, “it was fully removed from its initial idea”.

“The statement, when it was made, was in the context of the fact that our political opponents at these elections tried to fully play the ethnic card. That entire statement I would say was sincere, but it was politically misinterpreted,” Kasami stressed.

In an interview for Alsat TV, Kasami stressed that his positions are clear and aligned with those of Vlen, clarifying that his intention was not to back any candidate due to their ethnicity, but based on moral values and political performances.

“Fatmir Dehari is DUI’s weakest candidate, who during his rule brought nothing good for Kichevo. On the contrary, he harmed the city and the people of Kichevo. Because of that, we cannot back him just because he is Albanian,” Kasami said.

The Tetovo Mayor said the Besa Movement, the party he leads within the Vlen coalition, has always supported candidates who represent the interests of the citizens, regardless of ethnicity.

“As Mayor of Tetovo, I worked for all citizens – Albanians, Macedonians, Turks, Roma. Tetovo is a cosmopolitan city, and everyone is receiving all the benefits from these four years. In this spirit, in Kichevo too, we would like to see DUI select another, more dignified candidate,” Kasami stressed.

He reminded that the Besa Movement had its own candidate in the first round in Kichevo, noting that the citizens now know “who they need to support in the runoff”.

Kasami touched upon Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski’s response to his statement, saying he doesn't see it as a “warning” since, he said, his statement on DUI’s Kichevo candidate was taken out of context.

“First of all, I don’t think there was any kind of warning. We must consider the context, the place, and the media where the statement was made. It was politically misinterpreted,” Kasami said.

Kasami also said he and Vlen do not support the statement made by their candidate for Mayor of the Municipality of Brvenica, Hakim Ramadani, who is also the current head of the State Inspectorate for Local Self-Government, in which he told diaspora members in Hamburg, Germany, to vote for ethnic Albanians in those municipalities where the runoff includes a duel with ethnic Macedonians, in order "to defend the homeland and show who is the boss in municipalities dominated by Albanians".

“We should unite around shared visions for development. The positions of the candidate for the Municipality of Brvenica are his own positions, I, as Mayor of Tetovo, represent all citizens – the Macedonians, the Roma, the Turks, and of course, the Albanians as the majority,” Kasami said.

MIA file photo