Skopje, 14 April 2026 (MIA) - SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Tuesday the election result in Hungary sends a clear message to the entire region that the era of autocrats is over. Filipche stressed the result marks an end to the era during which Budapest “was a safe haven for all convicted corrupt criminals” and asked if the Government would submit an extradition request for former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

“This is a historic victory of Europe over Russian and Chinese influence, and of the rule of law over corruption. The historic victory in Hungary sends a clear message to the entire region that the era of autocrats is ending. The one in Serbia is next, and then Mickoski. The region belongs to Europe and not Russia. A time of justice and accountability is coming,” Filipche said at a press conference.

According to the opposition leader this is significant for the country because, he said, “Hristijan Mickoski’s Government placed Macedonia’s strategic interests in Orban’s hands”.

“They didn’t place them in the hands of Hungary, they didn’t do so for the good of Macedonia – they placed them in the hands of businessmen, close associates of the person who is no longer in power, and not for the good of the country, but for their own personal interests. Telecommunications, energy, media, finance – everything was connected to Orban’s inner circle,” Filipche said.

Filipche said the country has been experiencing a “media blackout” due to “media controlled by Orban and directly managed by VMRO”.

“Mickoski’s political tool for fake news, fabricated scandals, and daily attacks against SDSM and me personally. While we were warning that Orban’s regime would fall, VMRO was frantically intensifying the smear campaign, trying to distract the attention of the public. Now that Orban has fallen, VMRO’s panic is evident. The media under their control have already started to downplay the significance of the victory of the new democratic government in Hungary,” Filipche said.

The SDSM leader said with VMRO-DPMNE and Mickoski in power, Orban used the country as “his own private colony for political and financial interests”.

“With Orban falling, all these secret contracts and business interests will come to light. Now Mickoski will need to find an alternative way of financing his media to spread a false campaign and he will likely use money drained from companies close to him from the state budget, essentially from the citizens’ own pockets,” Filipche said.

Filipche noted that the business contracts must be investigated thoroughly.

“The citizens of Macedonia must know who exactly stands behind the media, the telecommunications, the loans, the infrastructure... and all the decisions made in their name. SDSM will request a complete investigation of all business combinations between Orban and Mickoski. The party’s anti-corruption team is already working intensely to uncover all criminal and corrupt activities of the regime, of the tender coalition with ZNAM and headed by Hristijan Mickoski,” Filipche said.

The opposition leader also posed questions about the future of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

“What will Nikola Gruevski – the convicted fugitive and symbol of corruption and abuse of power – do now that he no longer has a protector in Budapest? Will he escape to some other place, to Russia or some other country? Or will he return to serve his sentence? I welcome the clear and unequivocal message of Hungary’s new Prime Minister Peter Magyar from yesterday’s press conference – the new Hungarian Government will no longer provide a haven to people running from justice. Magyar explicitly said he would extradite all those hiding in Hungary, and directly mentioned Nikola Gruevski as a criminal,” Filipche said.

He also asked whether the Government has submitted an extradition request for Nikola Gruevski.

“Justice, no matter how delayed, always arrives in the end. It is time for justice, it is time for Europe,” Filipche underscored at the press conference.