Skopje, 17 October 2025 (MIA) – Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi met Friday with MEPs that are a part of the European Parliament’s delegation observing the country’s upcoming local elections.

The members of the delegations come from four political groups represented in the European Parliament: Marta Temido from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Portugal; Karlo Ressler from the European People's Party, Croatia, who also serves as co-chair of the EU–North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee; Pierre Pimpie from Patriots for Europe, France; and Nikolas Farantouris from The Left, Greece.

At the meeting, Speaker Gashi expressed his belief that the coming local elections will be implemented fully in line with the highest democratic standards and demonstrate the country’s democratic maturity. He welcomed the long-standing and successful cooperation, as well as the regular communication with the European Parliament, which is most directly carried out through the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee. He stressed that even after 20 years of being a candidate member, reforms, compromises, and difficult and painful decisions, the country’s citizens remain faithful to the European values.

The MEPs noted that as a delegation they are a part of the international observation mission led by OSCE-ODIHR and that although they have participated in monitoring elections in the country many times before, this will be their first time observing local elections. They aim to contribute to impartial and objective monitoring of the process, as well as to reaffirm the strong support for North Macedonia on its path to EU membership.

“Interlocutors exchanged views on the preparedness of the institutions for the local elections, as well as on the course of the campaign. The MEPs expressed hope that the citizens of North Macedonia will exercise their right to vote on October 19 in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere. Speaker Gashi, wishing the delegation success in their mission, stressed that he awaits their assessments with great attention, expressing confidence they will be positive and further strengthen the credibility and transparency of the electoral process,” Parliament said in a press release.

Photo: Parliament