Tetovo, 7 October 2025 (MIA) — VMRO-DPMNE's leader Hristijan Mickoski at a campaign rally in Tetovo late Tuesday evening said DUI's leader Ali Ahmeti and his party's policies drove people out of Macedonia and reduced the number of Albanian students.

"Although he would like me to, I will not tell people tales," Mickoski said, adding that during the 20 years DUI was in power, the number of school children had dropped considerably.

"There are 27,000 fewer students in Macedonia than a decade ago. It is because of DUI that there were 200 fewer students in the second semester of 2023 in Tetovo," he said, also listing numbers of students who had left their schools in Gostivar, Kichevo, Struga and other municipalities.

"This is the harsh reality brought about by Ali and his party in the government for over two decades," Mickoski said.

VMRO-DPMNE's leader also spoke about justice, saying it should not be a privilege of a few, but the human right of all.

According to Mickoski, the country needs a "system reset" after the 2025 local elections.

"We are about to face the moment generations have been waiting for. It's time for a system reset. The time has come to break the chains of injustice and build a state of justice, freedom and care for everyone," he said. 

"The judiciary must be impartial and indomitable, with judges judging according to the law and not according to influences. Institutions need to protect, instead of keeping silent," Mickoski said.

He also said VMRO-DPMNE's fight was not only about winning the local elections but it was "a fight for Macedonia's soul" and "a future in which no one is more important than anyone else and everyone has the same chances of success." mr/