Skopje, 27 October 2025 (MIA) - The key question is that the government has not delivered anything for a year and a half, and no group of citizens is satisfied or sees any policies from it. Regarding my mandate, I mentioned that leadership changes will happen soon, said the SDSM leader, commenting on PM Mickoski’s remark about why he holds him accountable instead of himself.

“Even with new coalition partners, VMRO-DPMNE received 140,000 fewer votes than last year. This shows that citizens recognize the government is failing to deliver, making false promises, ignoring problems, and not addressing citizens’ needs, with no group genuinely satisfied or seeing positive policies. Workers haven’t seen pay raises, pensioners were misled, and promised pension increases were not delivered. There’s no policy for youth, agriculture is failing, and subsidies are being reduced. This is the real issue that must be addressed,” SDSM leader Venko Filipche said during meetings with Krushevo area residents as part of the second-round election campaign.

Filipche announced upcoming leadership changes in SDSM.

“Concerning my mandate, I inherited the party as it was. This election cycle shows the way forward. Leadership changes will happen soon, and we will continue with renewed energy to regain voters’ trust,” he said.

According to the SDSM leader, the party received more votes in the local elections compared to last year’s elections, despite significantly lower voter turnout, while VMRO-DPMNE received 140,000 fewer votes.

“The media focus is on SDSM, not on a very serious problem, which is that VMRO-DPMNE and its coalition lost 140,000 votes compared to last year. Specifically, in last year’s elections, SDSM and its then-coalition had 152,000 votes. Now, for mayoral candidates, we have nearly 159,000 votes. We gained many more votes despite lower turnout compared to last year. Our lists dropped by about 20,000 votes, but that excludes coalition partners not running with us this year. Essentially, we have the same vote count as last year despite lower turnout. VMRO-DPMNE, even with new coalition partners, lost 140,000 votes, which is a serious signal,” SDSM leader Venko Filipche said.

Photo: MIA