Skopje, 29 June 2024 (MIA) - Former Defense Minister and SDSM MP Slavjanka Petrovska is withdrawing from the SDSM leadership race a day ahead of the vote. In an official letter to the party’s Central Election Commission, Petrovska said she wants to protect SDSM from an illegitimate leadership election and asked that her name isn’t on the ballot.

“Wanting to protect SDSM from an illegitimate election of a leader and to avoid being an accomplice in this violation of the statute, I am notifying you that I am withdrawing my candidacy for leader of SDSM. Since this process is unacceptable for me, I ask that my name isn’t listed on the ballot, so that voters aren’t misled,” Petrovska wrote.

In the letter, the SDSM MP wrote that despite sharing numerous irregularities with representatives of the Central Election Commission, she wasn’t provided any response that disproves her claims.

“At a meeting yesterday held in SDSM’s premises with members of the Central Election Commission I shared serious remarks over the accuracy and legitimacy of the electoral roll and the abuse of the personal data of thousands of SDSM members which continued today as well, but unfortunately I didn’t receive a response that disproves these claims. As a social democrat, I believe in the honesty with which we need to address our comrades, and that’s why all of these founded and confirmed suspicions undermine the legitimacy of these elections and results,” Petrovska stated.

On Friday, Petrovska accused of an unfair election process, stating that one of the candidates had access to the party’s database and abused the personal data of the party’s membership. She said she wouldn’t vote in Sunday’s leadership elections and urged the other candidates to drop out of the race.

The remaining candidates in the race for SDSM leader are former Health Minister and current MP Venko Filipche, the head of the Free Zones Authority Jovan Despotovski, as well as the former Deputy Minister of Information Society and Administration, Aleksandar Bajdevski. The party's members are set to vote for a new leader on Sunday.

Photo: MIA Archive