Skopje, 4 March 2024 (MIA) – The country’s current President and candidate for a new term, Stevo Pendarovski, commenting on the polls for the coming presidential elections in an interview for TV Sitel on Monday evening, said that VMRO-DPMNE’s leader, Hristijan Mickoski, claims the party’s candidate will have a lead of 100.000 votes in the first round of elections without saying what the figures will be like in the second round.

“All of their predictions are based on the first round. No one has ever become president in the first round when there are seven candidates. So, according to the polls that I am aware of, and that VMRO-DPMNE is aware of, I will certainly beat their candidate in the second round,” said Pendarovski.

On whether SDSM’s endorsement is to his benefit, Pendarovski said that Sunday’s party congress demonstrated that there exists a high compatibility between the party’s electorate and a candidate who is not a member of the party.

Asked whether his refusal to sign the amendments to the Law on Games of Chance and Entertainment Games into law is one of the reasons why DUI didn’t endorse him in the first round, Pendarovski said that, since the very beginning, DUI’s leadership has been saying they will have to participate with their candidate if the opposition coalition of the parties of ethnic Albanians does, “due to the psychological effect” at the parliamentary elections two weeks later.

Pendarovski said he expects to receive the support of all ethnic communities, because, he said, no one can become president without broad support from the citizens.

“At the elections, I expect the support of all ethnic communities and of all political parties that represent those ethnic communities. I’ve said this on many occasions and I stand by it: you can’t become president if you don’t have the support of everyone,” said Pendarovski.

According to Pendarovski, broad support isn’t only necessary due to the election, but also for the future political legitimacy and credibility of the president.

Asked about the differences between him and the rest of the candidates, Pendarovski said some candidates have been trying to impose a revision of the fundamental documents upon which, he said, the country’s internal cohesion rests, pointing to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the Prespa Agreement and the Agreement with Bulgaria.

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