Skopje, 27 April 2024 (MIA) – Either you accept the constitutional amendments or you say it that you are not in favour of membership in the European Union, those are the two courses, Alliance for Albanians (AA) leader Ziadin Sela said in an interview with MIA. 

In the interview ahead of the parliamentary elections, Sela remains of the view that the constitutional amendments should be passed first before the Government is formed. The debate over the constitutional amendments is over, he points out, and only voting is needed. 

“Once the new majority is formed, we should sit down and pass the constitutional amendments. From a formal and legal point of view, there is no issue because the fact that elections will take place does not mean that we will have a new country. It is the same country, and the sessions of the previous composition of the Parliament resume, and we can pass the constitutional amendments. That would be the condition for creating the new Government,” Sela says. 

European integration remains a priority for the Alliance for Albanians, and according to Sela, Russian aggression in Ukraine has brought mitigating circumstances regarding the EU accession of Western Balkan countries. He notes that the country must seize the momentum. 

"It is a requirement. It should be clear to all citizens, and they should say it to all political actors telling them “if we get the votes and the majority, we will change the agreement,” etc. It is a condition – either you accept it or you say it that you are not in favour of EU membership. Those are the two paths. All political actors who come out before the citizens with a program on EU membership should be ready to vote for the constitutional amendments on the very first day when the new Parliament is constituted and move forward. I believe the Russian aggression in Ukraine brought mitigating circumstances regarding the EU accession of Western Balkan countries. We must seize this momentum because it will be much easier for us to be an equal EU member," Sela points out. 

Speaking in terms of the party, he said he expects AA to win at least five MP seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections, adding that the number would be higher depending on how many parliamentary mandates the European Front coalition wins.

On VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski call for national unity, Sela says Mickoski should clarify what kind of unity he means, adding that if it is a matter of a call for national unification of the Macedonians, then he is making a mistake because it will lead to national division. According to Sela, Mickoski should give an explanation if this is by order of some forces that seek instability in the country. 

"You know what, a party leader has the right to call for unification around a program and a platform. What he means by “national” is another thing, does it refer to one nationality only or does it refer to all ethnic communities as it is now stated in the Constitution. He should clarify this. If it is a matter of a call for national unification of the Macedonians, then he is making a mistake because it will lead to national division, which is not healthy for any ethnic community, and neither for the country nor for the region. Unfortunately, he should give an explanation as to whether this is by someone's orders, whether forces that seek instability in Macedonia give such orders, so that there is such a political discourse on the political stage for these elections. It is harmful for every citizen and as politicians we should first think as people, as parents and we should behave responsibly in politics as well,” says Sela. 

Commenting on the mock-constitutive parliamentary session held by the European Front coalition, Sela says it was to mark the beginning of the campaign for the parliamentary elections. As regards him being elected Parliament Speaker at the mock session, Sela says he felt responsible and such responsibility is no different from any other responsibility when citizens give you trust. 

"It was day one of the parliamentary campaign, April 18, and the European Front coalition HQ decided to launch the campaign like that. Meanwhile, we were in the middle of a presidential election campaign. Nothing special, I don't see why it should be anything other than a campaign announcement – ​​what it would look like, what our political goals would look like. The most important thing that happened at the mock session was the constitutional amendments and unblocking Macedonia's path to the European Union. And that is the main goal of our coalition for these elections, the main pillar of our platform,” Sela tells MIA.

On the rift within the Alliance for Albanians (AA), he says that Taravari had left the party and acted on the orders of Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE. How else did Mickoski know three weeks before that this would happen, asks Sela.

"Arben Taravari left the party, it was not a matter of disagreements. Up until that point we agreed on everything. When we opened with Taravari the topic of coalition, we sought to run in the elections alone, and suddenly, it seems he got an order from somewhere, and it seems it was from Mickoski, who said three weeks before that if the Alliance for Albanians does not join the so-called Albanian opposition, AA will split into two factions. How else did Mickoski know about it three weeks before it happened? So it seems, seeing the steps taken and the events that happened, Taravari is under direct orders of Miskoski and VMRO-DPMNE. Why is that, it is he who should explain. He left the party," Sela says. 

As regards the coalition with DUI, he notes that following the developments within AA, they had two options available - either not to run in the elections or to form a coalition. The option of not participating in the elections, according to Sela, was out of the question because it would benefit all political individuals and parties who want the Alliance for Albanians to disappear from the political scene, and he says he will not allow it. The decision to form a coalition with the European Front, he adds, has been made at the Central Assembly.

"I always say that in politics you make decisions with the political tools available at the moment. I cannot make a decision with the political tools I had a year ago, because I no longer have them. At the moment when we had to make a decision as AA, we had only two options – not to participate in the elections because we didn't have the possibility, we didn't have the party seal, and the other option was to join a coalition. And that was the decision made by the party’s Central Assembly to join the European Front coalition,"  says Sela.

He adds that AA has cooperated in the past with some of the parties from the ethnic Albanian opposition bloc, noting that there has been incorrect attitude on the part of Alternativa and Besa, and it makes no sense to form a coalition with them now. According to Sela, their goal has never been to defeat DUI, but to destroy the Alliance for the Albanians. 

"It was out of the question to join such a coalition with these “oppositionists”, I say “oppositionists” because Izet Mexhiti, who was DUI’s vice-president for 20 years and an official I believe he had three terms as mayor of Chair Municipality, can not be called an oppositionist. If the change he announces is the view the Chair has, I'm sorry, but he can't contribute to any change. In the past, we have always cooperated with the other political actors who are part of that coalition. Afrim Gashi was in a coalition with us in 2020 and you saw what happened – despite a word of honour and a written agreement that the coalition will be valid until the next elections, which should be now, Alternativa disrespected it twice - once when it left AA and became part of the Government, and the second time was when the Alliance for Albanians was part of the Government, but then they left. Asking us now to be in a coalition with them again makes no sense. We’ve also had unfair attitude on the part of the Besa movement for the local elections. Do you know what happened? We had an agreement and coalition for the second round in 2017 and 2021. We helped where they had a candidate in the second round. For example, in 2021 they had a candidate in Tetovo and in Zhelino, whereas we had candidates in seven municipalities. They won both municipalities because we gave our word and our members actively participated and voted. Their members, however, by order of the Besa movement, worked against us in all the municipalities where we qualified for the second round. So, their goal was never to defeat the DUI, but to destroy the Alliance for Albanians," Sela said.

According to the AA leader, it is possible to implement a vetting process in the country, because the country has good laws in place, but attention should be paid on how they are implemented. He believes that such a law should be passed as soon as possible. In order to implement the vetting process, he says social will is also needed in addition to political will. As a society, we talk all the time and are very vocal against corruption and crime, standing up for a non-partisan judiciary, but we should also ask ourselves how much we contribute to not having such politicians, he says adding that the citizens bring some justice on the day they vote. 

"Why does VMRO-DPMNE deserve to receive support, and why does someone deserve to be punished for working to make Macedonia a more secure country today, a NATO member, someone who contributes and is ready to vote for constitutional amendments so that we can be better neighbours and have more friends among the neighbouring countries and be an equal member of the European Union within four to five years. If we look at VMRO-DPMNE, all they do is rehabilitate all those who were in prison or charged for corruption and crime. That's why citizens should make the first judgment reflected through their vote. Another question is what we did as a society when Justice Minister Krenar Lloga, starting to work towards having a better judiciary, decided that the process should start from the Judicial Council. All judges should be held accountable in that Council. Who came out to support him for that?," Sela points out.   

In terms of ​​the economy, the European Front announces an average wage of EUR 900-1,000 by 2028, completing the Kichevo-Ohrid highway, the Skopje-Blace highway, the Tetovo-Prizren road and a railway connection with Albania. The coalition also announces an Economic Framework Agreement, establishing a Public Finance Agency and a debate on the progressive tax.

"Should progressive tax be introduced – the program calls for a debate because the opinion of the experts and the business needs to be heard. We’ve had such an offer from Zaev in the past, I remember he was very vocal about this topic, but later it turned out that the financial analyzes did not allow such a thing and it came to nothing. A flat tax is something right-wing parties call for. That is why the program seeks a debate because there are several political parties in the European Front and we, as AA, bearing in mind that we are right-oriented, are in favour of a flat tax, not a progressive one, but on the other hand, the specifics should also be looked at," says Sela. 

One of the promises is also integrating the Skopje-based University Clinical Center and transforming it into a new healthcare complex, which, according to Sela, is possible. He believes that investments are also needed in regional hospitals including those in Struga, Ohrid, Tetovo, Kichevo, Bitola, Kumanovo, Shtip....

Biljana Anastasova-Kostikj

Translated by Nevenka Nikolikj

Photo: MIA

Video and editing: Andrej Brankovikj and Vladimir Rabasovikj