NEWS OF THE DAY: SDSM and BESA agree a pre-election campaign
SDSM and the Besa Movement today in the Museum of Contemporary Art formalized their pre-election agreement for joint participation in the elections. The leaders of SDSM and Besa, Zoran Zaev and Bilal Kasami signed a Declaration for joint participation in the elections on April 12. For the first time in the history of independent Macedonia, a pre-election coalition between the parties of the Macedonians and the Albanians has been achieved.
-Our society is changing for the better, the civic concept of one society for all is defeating stereotypes, the time of divisions is going down in history. Today, the mono-ethnic concept when parties only address their own or only the ethnic campus is defeated… The BESA movement is the first Albanian party that has overcome the depreciated concept – of ethnic votes being used as a number for post-election calculations for participation in government coalitions, said today leader of SDSM Zoran Zaev following the formalization of the pre-election coalition between SDSM and BESA for the upcoming early parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12.
SDSM’s leader highlighted that one can enter the family of full members of EU and NATO with actions and a vision, and added that in the 2016 elections SDSM had been the first Macedonian party that with its principles drew tens of thousands of Albanian votes.
We will not accept to be blackmailed and we will not accept unprincipled bargaining. Those who will join need to accept our principles, said Zaev after the signing of the joint statement with BESA for partnership in the following 4 years, with a binding character.
The leader of BESA, Bilal Kasami, sees the signing of the agreement for a pre-election coalition with SDSM as a historic act and called on all voters to support the coalition that will enable membership in the EU and NATO.
“This is a historic day. I expect all Albanian voters to seize this historic opportunity and to be members of the ruling coalition. This coalition is a continuation of the train for NATO and membership in the European Union”, said Bilal Kasami, head of the BESA Movement, following the signing of the agreement for a pre-election coalition with SDSM. FLASH: Zaev rudely put down the “historic” attainments of UCK and VMRO-DPMNE!
comments: XHABIR DERALLA
This politician, Zaev, whom journalist Geroski at one time called the Balkan Gandhi, continues overcoming divisions along ethnic lines and is forming a pre-election coalition with a party of the Albanians. How rude! POLITICALLY OK CORALL: Viral pre-election campaign
As the date to elections is nearing, so is the campaign becoming fiercer. Every situation is used to attack the political opponent. Some of the quarrels have even included the coronavirus, the ripped roofs of schools or the facades of the “Skopje 2014” project (for which disinformation is being spread on the social networks that it is because of the
incapability of this government), while the truth actually is that the constructions that were torn by the strong wind were built in the time of the rule of VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski.
NOT LESS IMPRTANT
The Lower House of the Spanish Parliament ratified North Macedonia’s NATO Accession Protocol. Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov write about the ratification on his Facebook profile.
– The lower house in Madrid, ratified the NATO accession protocol this morning with 279 votes IN FAVOR and 1 against! Muchas Gracias! Next and last stop: The Senate…, wrote the Foreign Minister.
*
The results of the patient who was suspected of having coronavirus are negative said the Minister of Health, Venko Filipce.
“The patient is one of two cases being tested at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Skopje. Both cases tested negative for the virus. Presently, the already hospitalized patient at the Infectious Disease Clinic in Skopje who recently returned from Milano is the only registered case of COVID-19. She has no complications, feels well and is being treated symptomatically in the Infectious Disease Clinic”, announced the Minister.
*
Relations between North Macedonia and the Russian Federation are on a principled and friendly level, and there are potentials for promoting cooperation in the arena of the economy, education, science and culture, was concluded at today’s meeting of Technical Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski and the Russian Ambassador in the country Sergei Bazdnikin.
* The State Election Commission published the Directory of SEC regional branches and offices where citizens can inspect the Voters Register or give support to the list of candidates for MPs at the early parliamentary elections.
“All interested citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia who would like to perform insight into their data in the Voters Register can do this in person in the regional departments
and offices of the State Election Commission that are located in the above-mentioned locations.
All interested citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia who would like to sign for supporting a list of candidates for MPs, proposed by a group of voters, can do so in person at the regional departments or offices of the State Election Commission competent on the territory where they live, and which are located at the above-mentioned locations.
During the public inspection and the collection of data for supporting a list of candidates for MPs proposed by a group of voters, the regional departments and offices will be open every day from 9.00 am until 7.00 pm, and on March 6 and March 11, 2020 until 12.00 pm midnight”, announced the SEC.
According to the deadline, the public inspection of the Voters Register will last until March 11, 2020, 12.00 pm, and the deadline for collecting signatures for support ends on March 6 at 12.00 pm.
CIVIL ACTIVITIES
Given the great interest, as well as the opportunities to increase the size of the election monitoring, CIVIL invites all of its members, supporters and participants of seminars on citizen journalism, observers of previous elections, as well as all interested citizens to apply for short-term election observers. LINK TO APPLICATION
Officials and activists of political parties do not have the right to participate in this call. It is also not allowed for one to be an observer of two organizations at the same time.
In the process of selection of observers, as always, CIVIL’s members and supporters, former observers, as well as those who have participated in seminars on citizen journalism, have an advantage.
FREE ZONE
“Don’t worry, you will die of old age”, is the title of Saso Ordanoski’s column, who writes about the coronavirus, adding – “Well, all right, maybe some excursions and most March 8 parties won’t happen… Big deal! The way we are, once this health nuisance goes away, we’ll make up for it three times more!
That’s why we ask café orchestras not to fall into an unnecessary depression, and for tavern keepers not to spread panic… We will avenge this virus “with an interest”! There is nothing else, we will have to die of old age.
*
Zoran Ivanov in his column “Reinhard Priebe for list holder” writes that – “The disappointment of citizens with party elites should be a good opportunity for the parties at the upcoming elections to finally turn the page. To tighten their cadre criteria. To present figures on the Macedonian political scene. Affirmed, proven, capable, authoritative, valued in their profession, respected in the area in which they work and respected by their competitors.
Dzevdedt Hajredini makes a point that “No one has the right to be beating their chest that they are a representative of the Albanians”, adding – “DUI with a pre-election coalition with SDSM won almost all mayors. Now Ali doesn’t like other Albanian parties forming a coalition with SDSM.
Besides that, at the last parliamentary elections the number of Albanians who voted for SDSM wasn’t much lower than those who voted for DUI. That’s why no one has the right to beat themselves in the chest that they are a representative of the Albanians”.
Dehran Muratov
In cooperation with: Angela Petrovska, Biljana Jordanovska, Xhabir Deralla, Saso Ordanoski, Zoran Ivanov and Dzevdet Hajredini
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
