Skopje, 6 October 2025 (MIA) - Today's response by former SDSM leader Zoran Zaev to the accusations that he had allegedly received suitcases full of money from ex-Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov is a sign of panic and fear, said VMRO-DPMNE vice-president Aleksandar Nikoloski on Monday.

"The person who was the mastemind of Macedonia's biggest defeats and national betrayals, the person whose time in office was marked by crime and corruption, suddenly appears in the campaign in order to show Venko FIlipche and SDSM who is in fact running the party. Regarding the concessions for the eastern neighbor, this is clearly shown by the declaration they have submitted in the Parliament just a few days ahead of the election campaign and written by Zaev," Nikoloski told a press conference.

According to him, SDSM wants to protect certain elites within their own party.

"That is why there is so much resistence to reforms in the judiciary and the prosecution. This is the last bastion of a few SDSM elites left standing. This SDSM serves only Zaev and Ahmeti, who see it as an opportunity to go back into politics," said Nikoloski.

Earlier in the day, Zaev responded on Facebook following accusations by VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski over the Bulgarian suitcases, branding them as lies and slander, and an attempt by the PM "to turn the public's attention away from his failures".

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