Skopje, 1 March 2024 (MIA) — President Stevo Pendarovski announced his re-election bid at a press conference Friday, saying he would run as an independent candidate backed by SDSM and its coalition partners.

President Pendarovski said he had received strong support for another presidential term from members of the public, including university professors and cultural workers, and thanked them for the backing.

He said he also expected SDSM to formally back his presidential bid at their Congress scheduled for Sunday, March 3. He added that SDSM's ten coalition partners were also expected to support him in seeking a second term as President.

"On Sunday, I will attend the SDSM Congress to thank them for their support, and from Monday on I will have meetings with all ten parties that have announced their support for my candidacy," President Pendarovski said, adding that he would ask them to share their ideas that he could incorporate in his election platform.

Running as an independent, he said he also needed citizens to support him by giving their signatures for his presidential bid at the State Election Commission's regional offices.

His main reason for seeking another five years in office, he said, was that his first term was spotless, "without a single strategic mistake."

"Without a single corruption affair, not a single case of nepotism and conflict of interests related to me, my family, or relatives," Pendarovski highlighted.

"I was the national coordinator leading the negotiations for Macedonia's NATO membership and in my first term we became members of the Alliance. I expect that in my second term we will become a member of the EU," he said.

Another reason for seeking a second term in office, he said, was that his interethnic policies had been and would be "a pillar of internal stability and societal cohesion." He pointed out that there had not been a single case in which his ethnicity as a Macedonian had been reason for him to favor or degrade anyone, as illustrated by the structure of his office and the appointments he had made within his constitutional powers.

Pendarovski added that, over the past five years, he had also shown that the President could be independent from any centers of political or economic power in the country, including those who backed him in the election.

"There is no person or party in our country that can say it controls me or directs my decisions," the head of state said.

Speaking about other candidates who had been advocating for rescinding or promising to rescind the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the Prespa Agreement, and the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria, Pendarovski reiterated his position that any such announcements were aimed at scoring political points.

"The Agreement with Bulgaria had not been disputed for three years, when it — the same agreement with the same content — became a problem because Bulgaria, under the pressure of its old communist nationalist guard, started inventing reasons for their blockade, which are otherwise not in the agreement itself," Pendarovski said.

He added that any promises to change the negotiating framework with the EU and to reach a better agreement with Bulgaria were "a political mirage."

"Just like their latest ingenious idea that they will honor the Agreement with Bulgaria but in exchange they will demand that Sofia change their Constitution and accompanying laws," Pendarovski said.

"If anyone makes this happen, I will be the first to publicly congratulate them," he said. "But I am afraid that they are only looking for ways to justify [the party's] actually obstructing our European integration, which they have been doing in recent years, only for the sake of raising their party's ratings."

Earlier this week, SDSM's leadership announced that the Social Democrats would back Pendarovski in the upcoming presidential election. "Pendarovski is the winning candidate, close to the people. He shares progressive values, having a clear vision for the country's European future," SDSM said.

"In his current term in office, Pendarovski has restored the reputation, integrity and credibility of the institution of President and has shown what it means to be a true President for all citizens. Pendarovski represents all our citizens regardless of their ethnic, political, religious or any other affiliation," the party said.

The presidential election will be held on April 24 and the runoff on May 8, together with the parliamentary election. mr/