Skopje, 14 September 2026 (MIA) - VMRO-DPMNE, democracy and independent Macedonia have shared the same journey over the past 35 years. We are a young democracy and while 35 years is not a long period, it is enough to look back at our successes and setbacks. We learned from our setbacks, grew stronger and created a wonderful story called Macedonia. Democracy is an ongoing process that we will continue to develop and improve, Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said late Monday at the opening of the first “More Participation, More Democracy” political platform, organized by the party’s Women’s Union to mark International Day of Democracy.

Mickoski said democracy is at a high level both within VMRO-DPMNE and throughout the country.

He stressed that VMRO-DPMNE has always stood for an independent, democratic and sovereign state.

“The party, when we were still part of the former SFRY, advocated an independent, democratic and sovereign state with its own banknotes, anthem, army and sports teams. As a result of those policies, in 1991 the citizens overwhelmingly voted for an independent state of our own, with democracy deriving from the people. I was born under a one-party system, was a teenager in an independent Macedonia, and now I am taking part in democratic processes and leading the strongest organization. I am convinced that in the future we will be able to see what each generation has done, and how much, to make democracy more mature than it was before,” Mickoski noted.

The platform opened with the Macedonian national anthem and the VMRO-DPMNE anthem. Following Mickoski’s address, Marija Miteva, president of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union and government spokesperson, also addressed the gathering.

“We believe democracy cannot be taken for granted. It is something that must be built, improved and defended with dignity. Democracy is not simply an institutional formula that we have adopted and accepted; it is something every individual experiences through whether their voice is heard and whether their efforts are rewarded. No democratic process has happened by accident. The fact that we can compete today through ideas is because generations before us made it possible to have an independent state and independent institutions. When we speak about democracy today, we are also speaking about our own political experience as a party. And this includes the story of women, who have not only recently become involved in politics; on the contrary, they have been part of every social process,” Miteva noted.

The platform features two panel discussions: “Participation as a Driving Force of Democracy” and “The Role of Political Parties in Democratic Participation.”

The first panel will be addressed by Timcho Mucunski, member of the VMRO-DPMNE Executive Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; Elena Ivanovska, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Women’s Union and State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science; Ana Shutinovska, member of the Executive Committee of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union; and Mare Bogeva, member of the Executive Committee of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union and Director of the Public Procurement Bureau.

The second panel will feature Vlado Misajlovski, member of the VMRO-DPMNE Executive Committee and Minister of Defence; Lenche Neloska, Vice President of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union and Director of the Gerontology Institute in Skopje; Dragana Arsova, member of the Executive Committee of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union and MP; and Elena Kochoska, member of the Executive Committee of the VMRO-DPMNE Women’s Union.