Skopje, 1 July 2024 (MIA) - I consider it offensive to the members for anyone to think that someone could influence their vote, said the new SDSM president, Venko Filipche, regarding accusations that the party's election process was illegitimate. Filipche told Telma TV late on Monday that such accusations are inappropriate and a sign of disrespect towards SDSM members.

“In fact, all the opposing candidates lost even in their own local municipal organizations. I understand that situation. I know that emotions are involved; it was a campaign, an election, and people have different expectations. I am a person with a wide democratic capacity, and I am ready to endure criticism and, under the influence of criticism and other opinions, to build a broad platform,” Filipche stated.

He reiterated the information provided by the party's central election commission, stating that there were 51 complaints, of which only seven were accepted.

“Such a number of people absolutely cannot affect the final result. I believe the result represents a convincing difference. I really don't think it's fair to cast a shadow not only on the process but also to be unfair to the members who came out and cast their vote,” Filipche said.

He pointed out the low number of party members who registered to vote in the internal elections. Slightly more than 20,000 members registered for the elections out of a total of 80,000 members in SDSM. According to Filipche, they had expressed their feelings during the campaign for the presidential and parliamentary elections.

He noted that the most challenging operation in this entire system will be the reform of the mentality within SDSM. According to him, there is generally poor internal communication among people in the party and a division into factions, which is why he proposes much more frequent meetings between the leadership and the membership within the municipal organizations.

Filipche stressed that his goal will be to make the results visible, and in the next elections in 9 months, to gain even more votes than now.

Photo: MIA archive