Skopje, 18 September 2025 (MIA) - It is up to the people of Kumanovo to decide if they are tired of me at the elections. My job is to continue doing what I do best and to finish the projects I’ve started, said ZNAM Movement leader and Kumanovo mayor, Maksim Dimitrievski, replying to the question of whether citizens are tired of him as he seeks support for a third term.

“I hope the public can see this and will back me. If not, I will carry on with everyday life and political engagement, as we at ZNAM are only beginning on the political stage, the party is just a year and a half old,” Dimitrievski told Kanal 5 TV.

He pointed out that during his first term he financially stabilized, as he said, the most indebted municipality, while in his second term several major projects were carried out in both urban and rural areas. He said he is proud of the large Lidl distribution center in Kumanovo, as the biggest foreign investment in the country.

For these local elections, it has been agreed that VMRO-DPMNE will provide support, as they will not have their own candidates in Kumanovo and Centar and will back the mayoral candidates proposed by ZNAM. As he noted, they do not have candidates in all municipalities because, he said, they want to win, not just participate.

He is confident they will maintain citizen support and that “there is no reason for ZNAM to lose the backing” they gained in the last elections.

“Because I think that in no way have we let anyone down, except for some individuals who had high personal expectations,” Dimitrievski said.

On the Albanian political bloc, he does not expect DUI to achieve better results than Vlen in the elections. He noted that as long as DUI does not reform internally as a political party and “does not replace all those who were the epicenter of crime and corruption in the country, DUI will continue to be treated the same way.”

Dimitrievski also discussed the 17 months of government in which ZNAM is a coalition partner. Regarding the delays in judicial reforms, led by a minister from his party, he said that Igor Filkov drafted 22 laws, but pointed out, “laws are not passed by the minister, but by the Parliament, and they first go through the government procedure.”

“If you follow his statements, you will notice how many laws have entered government procedure. Yet, you cannot complete in a year and a half what was left unfinished for eight or nine years. The amendments to the Criminal Code made in 48 hours have resulted in a situation where many criminal offenses exist, while at the same time under the same law they are amnestied and cannot be held accountable. Concerning the Criminal Code, it is ready and has been reviewed several times in government. The Prime Minister’s most recent statement, his word being final, was that the article on abuse of office still needs to be defined,” he noted.

He referred to the adopted package of public administration laws, implemented by the Ministry under ZNAM minister Goran Minchev, noting that the so-called balancer had been abolished.

“I am pleased with my ministers, but the final decision lies with the Prime Minister. If he chooses to carry out a reshuffle, he must first explain it to the parliamentary majority, and, if needed, beyond that. Can some things be improved? Certainly,” Dimitrievski said.

He stated that they will accept the national platform offered by SDSM leader Venko Filipche, but clarified that it should not be like the French proposal, and that “as a nation, we should not be undermined in any way nor put our language, identity, culture, continuity, and uniqueness at risk.”

On the topic of the series of arson incidents, and whether he considers them hybrid attacks like Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Dimitrievski said that in Kumanovo, fires frequently occur at the same sites, deliberately set by citizens to cause destruction. He added that the law must be revised because “the punitive policy is catastrophic.”

“The Prime Minister has so far presented many matters that were later confirmed to be accurate, and I believe they were staged, especially during the pre-election period… There is reason for suspicion, and I fully agree with the Prime Minister that there is a link, especially regarding local elections. You will see, after these elections are over, things will settle until the parliamentary elections. This has happened before, but the problem is that we do not have an established system,” Dimitrievski stated.

Photo: screenshot Kanal 5 TV