Skopje, 25 March 2026 (MIA) - SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Wednesday he would not allow new divisions to occur within the opposition party, dismissing current initiatives as unfounded. The party leader said SDSM remains focused on the drafting of a new party platform set to be adopted at a congress in June.

In an interview with TV Telma, Filipche said he would not permit the establishment of “structures that work in the interest of the Government”.

“I want to be clear, I won’t allow a second ZNAM to happen. I won’t allow another split at a time when we are fiercely critiquing the Government, through arguments, as well as revealing their criminal activities and the reasons for the halting of the country’s Euro-integration path,” Filipche said.

The party leader said current public initiatives from discontented members lack a serious basis and do not offer concrete arguments.

“I am ready to discuss every topic, but this party has seen divisions in the past. We saw how a faction split off and moved to the ZNAM Movement, which said it would serve as a corrector to the Government, that they would behave differently from SDSM, and what happened? They became a small movement, subcontractors of VMRO-DPMNE's criminal policies. And only a few people are benefiting financially from this,” Filipche stressed.

Regarding the draft platform he presented at Tuesday’s session of SDSM’s central board, Filipche said it contains the party’s future policies and measures.

“The basis of this draft platform comes from the party’s expect committees and the process of finalizing the platform will conclude on June 7 with a congress during which the platform should be adopted. A day before the congress, on June 6, an international meeting will be held with sister parties from the region where we will sign a joint declaration in favor of a European integration of the region, fighting corruption, and fighting authoritarian regimes,” Filipche said.

In the interview, Filipche accused the Government of knowingly isolating the country from the European Union.

“We are completely isolated. The European Union’s priorities will change, the door won’t be so open anymore. Who knows what kind of conditions will arise if Albania becomes a member state before us. And what will we do? What will this Government do, who will bear responsibility,” Filipche said.

According to the opposition leader, during its rule VMRO-DPMNE has shown it has neither plan nor vision about the country’s progress and a better future for the citizens.

“The policies all come down to the fact that this Government has absolutely no plan, nor a vision, nor has it been doing anything for the good of the citizens or the country over the past two years. Half of its term has passed, and the citizens have not seen any benefits. There is not a single big, significant project, except for the ones launched during SDSM’s rule which they are now completing,” Filipche said.

Photo: SDSM