Skopje, 23 November 2023 (MIA) - VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said the date for the elections is subject to consensus, and requires parties to sit down and finalize the deal. He added that VMRO-DPMNE will fight to come close to or even win a majority in the Parliament, which is 61 MPs.

In an interview with Kanal 5 TV, Mickoski noted that VMRO-DPMNE has proposed two options for the elections. 

"One option is to have the first round of presidential elections on April 24, i.e. the second round of presidential elections and the parliamentary elections on May 8. This would mean start of the campaign on April 4 or a caretaker government sometime on January 29. The second proposal was that if the elections were early, March 31 would be the first round of presidential elections, and April 14 the second round of presidential elections and parliamentary elections, which would mean that the campaign would start somewhere around March 11. We are ready for either of these two options. I am worried that Kovachevski, in his macho game of being the leader, will change his mind and do political gymnastics again," said Mickoski. 

He pointed out that he is leaving the initiative to Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, for this to be his proposal, noting that it is only important to officially close this issue.

Mickoski believes that it is very important to have a successful presidential round, in which a president will be elected.

"According to public opinion polls, the candidate who will be proposed by VMRO-DPMNE will be the next president, but why not do another historic feat together with the citizens, which is to have a political entity from the position of an opposition win 61 MPs," Mickoski added. 

He did not reveal who will VMRO-DPMNE's candidate for president and said the decision will be made soon at a party convention. On whether it could be professor Gordana Siljanovska Davkova again, Mickoski said: "never say never".

As regards the parliamentary elections, he said he will head the candidate list for the first electoral district. 

The VMRO-DPMNE leader believes there is no need to form a caretaker government. According to him, it is humiliating for DUI, "which is at the center of numerous scandals", to nominate a prime minister. Another reason why there is no need for a caretaker government, according to Mickoski, is that a country that wants to be part of the EU needs to show that it is mature. He added that VMRO-DPMNE is ready to accept a change to the law that would cancel the provision for a caretaker government. He pointed out that together with the ruling parties and other parliamentary parties they should sit down and agree on cancelling the caretaker government, not only in this election but also in all the following elections, noting that there are more obstructions in a caretaker government than something that can add value to the process.

Micoski believes that a government should be elected with political legitimacy won in elections.

Asked whether VMRO-DPMNE has coalition capacity to attract an Albanian party, he said that VMRO-DPMNE is already in a coalition with Albanian political entities at the local level in several municipalities.

He added that a coalition will be discussed after the election results come out.

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