Skopje, 1 October 2023 (MIA) — Members of Parliament who come from the ranks of BESA will not vote for the constitutional changes required to continue the country's EU negotiations unless the wording of "the language spoken by at least 20 percent of the population" in the Constitution is replaced with "the Albanian language," party leader Bilall Kasami said in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

Asked about why BESA did not participate in the workgroup on the constitutional amendments, Kasami said that "as long as the government is not interested in hearing our voice, we will not vote on the constitutional amendments."

"Our position is clear," he said.

"We unequivocally approve of the constitutional amendments, because they speed up our path to the EU.

"But the government showed once again that it is not interested in pushing forward the constitutional amendments but is interested instead in surviving its last days in office and pushing to stay in power to the end. Why?

"We, as a movement, filed a formal motion, but it is the common view of the Albanian opposition that the constitutional amendments should also include a change to the wording "the language spoken by 20 percent of the citizens" with the wording "Albanian language," Kasami told Radio Free Europe. mr/