Skopje, 30 October 2025 (MIA) - Let the second round be our clear victory, not just in numbers, but a victory in consciousness. Macedonia will move forward. Skopje will be a pride for all. And the victory will be the victory of the people, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said at the final rally in Skopje ahead of Sunday’s second round of local elections. He stated that citizens are not just voting for a mayor or councilor, but are voting “for order, for dignity, for the future.”

Regarding Skopje’s mayoral candidate, Orce Gjorgjievski, Mickoski said that “Skopje is getting a mayor who will work tirelessly, a committed and humane fighter, a person who will make us proud, and who is aware that delivering results and projects is a responsibility, just like the trust given by citizens.”

“Orce Gjorgjievski is proof that change is possible when someone works with heart. A person who does not make promises without being sure he can deliver, and who delivers for the citizens. And when I see what Orce has done for Kisela Voda, I know that the same spirit, the same energy, and the same conscientiousness will be brought to Skopje. Skopje will enter a new phase of predictability and fulfillment of obligations. Orce is serious, composed, and fairly methodical. He will make Skopje live freely again and breathe freely, a city where public transport will not be an excuse to break rules out of vanity or excuses, but a system; where pedestrian crossings mean safety, not Russian roulette; where waste is a resource, not shame or pollution. Skopje needs governance, not experimentation. For Orce, Skopje is a network of lives. And now he needs your clear mandate for Skopje to become a city of order, cleanliness, culture, easy mobility, equally developed municipalities, and an honest local economy,” Mickoski said.

Mickoski called on voters to also support their candidates in the Skopje municipalities of Karposh, Aerodrom, Shuto Orizari, and Centar, as well as in the nearby municipality of Chucher-Sandevo, because, he said, this is the real choice.

He also emphasized that these elections present a historic opportunity for Kichevo, where, he noted, “for ten years there has been no mayor implementing our program, our values; there was no person who looked out for everyone, only for themselves.”

“For twenty years, the city was governed in a way that often divided people by religion, ethnicity, or party. Tonight, I send a message from here, from Skopje, to all citizens of Kichevo, Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Vlachs, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks: on Sunday, vote for the person who will be a mayor for everyone. Let us unite around the idea that Kichevo can be a symbol of coexistence, not division. Let us make history a reality: for the first time in two decades, Kichevo will have a mayor who does not ask ‘whose are you?’ but ‘what can we do together?’ This will be a shared historic victory for all citizens of Kichevo, and as a government, we will fully support Kichevo in its efforts to improve the lives of all its citizens,” Mickoski said.

“Here, there is no ethnic narrative, only a human dimension,” he said.

“This is not a call to vote along ethnic lines, but to vote for a person, a Macedonian man married to an Albanian woman, who embodies values and strength, someone who will work for all Kichevo residents. He will be mayor for everyone, Macedonians, Albanians, and he will also work for Turks, Roma, Vlachs, and Bosniaks, for all who live there regardless of party, ethnicity, or religion. He is a person dedicated to Kichevo,” the VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski added.

Photo: MIA