Skopje, 20 March 2024 (MIA) — Gordana Siljanovska Davkova's presidential candidacy was not supported by thousands of citizens' signatures as VMRO-DPMNE had boasted but only by the signatures of some 30 VMRO-DPMNE MPs, according to the campaign team of President Stevo Pendarovski, who is running for second term in office. "Siljanovska Davkova and VMRO-DPMNE lied to tens of thousands of citizens who waited for hours to sign their names, yet their signatures, instead of supporting her candidacy, ended up in the trash," Pendarovski's team said in a press release.

She was the only presidential candidate whose candidacy submitted to the State Election Commission was backed by MPs' signatures instead of citizens' signatures, the release pointed out.

"Just two weeks ago, VMRO-DPMNE was boasting that Gordana Siljanovska Davkova had gathered the most citizens' signatures, citing figures of 20,000, 25,000 and higher," the release said.

"But in the end, Siljanovska Davkova's candidacy was supported only by some thirty signatures by MPs from the ranks of VMRO-DPMNE," it said.

In the release, Pendarovski's team also wondered why Siljanovska Davkova had made this move. "Did they lie about the total number of signatures collected?" the team asked. mr/