Skopje, 4 August 2026 (MIA) – We are always prepared for elections. It is normal that when any government enters the second part of its term, elections are expected at some point. We would prefer to hold regular elections after delivering on the project we are focused on, but we are always ready for any challenge that may arise, although there is currently no such challenge. Most likely, we will go to regular elections, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski said.

Commenting on the absence of a government-opposition agreement on the Electoral Code, Nikoloski told Kanal 5 TV that he expects “common sense to prevail” before the 2028 elections.

"Our request is to enable equal voting rights for all citizens of Macedonia, including people in the diaspora. I hope we will find a solution," he said.

Regarding the opposition’s accusations that the government is isolating the country from its European path and lacks transparency, and whether he expects a consensus among the parties on a sustainable solution, Nikoloski said that "consensus should be built with those who created the problem."

"It would be good to have consensus, although those with whom consensus needs to be built are the ones who created the problem. While they were in power, they accepted obligations that cannot be implemented and obligations that are harmful to Macedonia’s national interests. We need to be aware of who we are dealing with," Nikoloski said.

He said that in implementing the reforms under the Growth Plan, Macedonia is an absolute leader among the six Western Balkan countries.

"We are already in a situation where additional steps will be taken in order to secure additional funds from the European Union as a reward for the reforms. This is a process personally coordinated by Prime Minister Mickoski. We hold weekly meetings on this issue and talks with the EU, and the results are visible to everyone," Nikoloski said.

Regarding the situation in Gostivar, he said that this is a problem "that in no way falls within the government’s responsibilities, but is an issue under the jurisdiction of local self-government, namely the municipality of Gostivar."

"We saw that the municipality lacks the capacity to deal with the problem; it created the problem, and the government voluntarily decided to get involved and resolve it. This shows that the government has a good intention to address this issue as well, and I hope that soon they will have safe drinking water. In the meantime, the Prosecutor’s Office should do its job, investigate all those who are potentially suspected, and those who committed a crime should, of course, be held accountable," Nikoloski said.

Photo: screenshot