Skopje, 30 June 2024 (MIA) – Venko Filipche was elected new SDSM leader on Sunday, winning over 9.000 votes in the party’s extraordinary leadership elections.

Late on Sunday, the head of the party’s Central Election Commission, Viktorija Avramovska-Madikj, announced preliminary results from 77 polling stations according to which Filipche won 9.052 votes, Jovan Despotovski 2.705, Aleksandar Bajdeski 906, Slavjanka Petrovska 190, and 174 votes were invalid.

The final results, she said, would be published within 48 hours, after the expiration of the deadline for complaints and appeals.

After the results were announced, Filipche said SDSM had demonstrated its democratic capacity and a high level of professionalism.

“A period of reorganization and reform will follow in line with my program commitments, with which I am sure SDSM will once again return to its winning ways. This won’t be quick nor easy, but I know that there is no other way to restore the trust of our members except by making real, thorough changes. We cannot fake the changes or implement incomplete changes, they have to be real and sincere so that we can slowly but surely start to win the hearts of the citizens,” Filipche said.

Candidate Jovan Despotovski said it would be impossible to talk of an elected SDSM leader with 9.000 votes, while, he said, 10.000 registered voters didn’t vote.

He asked the party’s Central Election Commission to provide answers over why 10.000 members who registered to vote didn’t show up at the polling stations and why members who were appropriately registered weren’t allowed to vote. Despotovski said his team would submit appeals over the issue on Monday.

Candidate Aleksandar Bajdevski congratulated Filipche on his election and said the party should get back to work as early as Monday.

Photo: SDSM/MIA