Mickoski has also promised to prioritise the economy and create tens of thousands of jobs, a message that has resonated with many in the country battered by abysmal economic growth and rampant inflation.
Over the past two decades, North Macedonia has lost approximately 10 percent of its population due to mass migration, with few opportunities for the young.
Ethnic tensions
“VMRO-DPMNE has a great advantage and has the possibility of getting an even wider mobilisation of voters,” said political analyst Xhelal Neziri.
In the run-up to Wednesday’s vote, Mickoski has used increasingly inflammatory language toward the country’s largest Albanian party — the DUI — stirring fears that the rhetoric could upend fragile inter-ethnic relations.
Albanians make up more than a quarter of the country’s population of 1.8 million, with the DUI’s leader Ali Ahmeti leading a shortlived armed revolt for greater rights for Albanians in 2001.
Since declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, successive governments have abided by an unwritten rule that an ethnic Albanian party must be included in the governing coalition.
The DUI, along with a coalition of minority parties, appear set to capture the largest number of Albanian votes despite Mickoski lambasting its leaders as “thieves”.
“Whenever I tell the truth, they distort it as an attack against Albanians,” said Mickoski.
Better chances
The ruling SDSM have warned that the votes will decide whether Macedonia has a future in the EU, but have struggled to regain the initiative since their first-round defeat in the presidential poll.
“These elections will practically set the future of Macedonia — if we will move towards a progressive society, to the EU, or if we are headed to some past time when we had isolation and ethnic conflicts,” warned former prime minister and SDSM chief Dimitar Kovacevski.
The SDSM are pinning their political future on promises that the party’s leadership is vital to unlocking talks with the EU and appeasing Bulgaria.
Sofia has refused to back the opening of accession talks between Skopje and the EU until North Macedonia recognises its tiny Bulgarian minority in the constitution.
The SDSM have sought to make the amendments but lacked the numbers to win a parliamentary vote.
The political bickering and stirring of ethnic tensions, however, appears to ignore many voters who are hoping for a more prosperous future.
“I hope that the new government will seriously work on improving living standards,” finance manager Ivana Trajcev, 42, told AFP, saying she wanted the country’s next leaders to “create conditions so young people get equal and better chances for progress.”
Source link : https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/north-macedonia-elections-set-to-ramp-up-tensions-with-eu-neighbours/
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Publish date : 2024-05-05 07:00:00
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