(from the CIVIL-ians journal: October 5, 2017)

The new life and new era have wrapped up the eleventh day of their clumsy dance on the dirty scene. Their pendants rattled on the belts of the big leaders and local sheriffs, fixed to the frames with red tones set by the PR masters. The eleventh day of the pre-election campaign (October 5) was marked by more violence, dirty tricks and many sweet lies uttered by party speakers. Why lies? Well even if I were to see what they are promising, I would be rubbing my eyes in disbelief!

This day, halfway through the election campaign and until the day of the voting, was marked by the death of one of the candidates for mayor of the Municipality of Kicevo, Alit Abazi, who was shot dead in daytime shooting on September 27. The investigation has still not announced the motives, even though the attacker did not hide after the shooting, but rather went to have coffee in a well-known locale. However, regardless of the motives, this is an event that was supposed to stir the public, and also the institutions. Instead, we have more attacks, including an attempt to spray the participants at VMRO-DPMNE’s rally in the center of Skopje, which was also attended by the head

of that party. Apart from the quick response of the police that prevented this attack, we did not see any specific reaction. However, VMRO-DPMNE rushed to deny and fiercely attack CIVIL, with a threat that it would discredit it before the “international donors”, as they say in their angry announcement. We responded. With positive energy, with a tone of constructiveness that Gruevski said they would not practice.

SDSM is moving along with its political caravan, with mainly male speakers, who are talking about the liberation, about the crime of the previous rulers and about the beauties that the citizens will see with the new government. This time, in Tetovo, where a large number of Albanians voted for SDSM at the parliamentary elections and thus wrote a new page in the political history of Macedonia – for the first time, voters voted outside of their ethnic camp. The Albanians, disappointed and angry at DUI and Ali Ahmeti- long-time obedient partner in Gruevski’s government, voted for SDSM.

But now it seems as if SDSM is paying off some kind of debt. Has the white-haired, silent political calculating person, who has survived many political and criminal affairs, maid a bargain to have his voters returned, who he deservedly lost?

Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister and leader of SDSM, had a pleasant tour of Tetovo with mayor Teuta Arifi, an intellectual known for her independent views and frequent disagreements with the political chameleon Ahmeti. They visited the “Kiril Pejcinovic” high school and promised to build the central school building. Well, the long delayed construction operation, due to the ignoring of the previous prime minister, is now to be realized. Hmm…

At the same time, Minister Dragan Tevdovski was reviewing in Stip the open issues concerning the business in Stip, and how the budget rebalance anticipates a “serious amount of money budgeted for providing support to small and medium enterprises”.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am faced with the question as to whether this is a subtle, and perhaps not so subtle, pre-election marketing with a taste of abuse? I wrote this question to a member of CIVIL’s Expert Board. She replied with a smiley and with the following words: “Well it definitely is interference of the government in the pre-election campaign of the ruling party. However, taking in consideration the intensity of the interference, the taste of the abuse is still mild, and not bitter”.

Indeed, with everything that we saw in Gruvski’s time, from Pustec, to beatings, imprisonment and serious abuses and crimes, this seems like nothing. But, it does not mean that it should go unnoticed and without criticism.

Gruevski’s campaign is strongly spiced by the growing stream for reforms in the party that he is holding in his claws for over a decade. Party veterans came out with a public support for the Reformers and demanded a resignation from him. It’s as if though the judicial system and party justice are in a race. Given the corruptness of the courts, which keep on complicating and obstructing the work of the heroic SPO, it seems that party justice will reach Gruevski before the law does.

Nevertheless, in this short and incomplete review of the 11th day of the pre-election campaign, there are more questions that remain unanswered than answered. There is the issue concerning the Voters Register and the functioning of the SEC on election day and immediately afterwards, during the difficult hours of counting votes as well as the procedures of complaints, possible election reruns and many other issues. Questions remain about the election pressures and corruptive actions of the parties. Question about how party soldiers behave on the ground, far from the eyes of the public and the media, who – uninvited – suffer from the “Sunflower Effect”…

In some other occasion, we will deal with the question as to how much the religious radicalism will replace the ethnic one and what can (could) better prevent the society and the state…

And of course, in anticipation of all the violent actions that we will keep silent about, because freedom has come, we can absorb a murder and some broken heads.

And, at the end…

What have the parties offered? A flavorless taste of uninventive campaigns and a totally unoriginal performance by those running for local seats…Millions of refugees about to flood Macedonia, national chauvinism, freedom, a new life, new era and promises from a little notebook of an average janitor. And many men on the scene, while women are clapping hands.

Xhabir Deralla