Skopje, 22 July 2021 (MIA) – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said the decision on how to run in the local elections in all municipalities, including Tetovo, and whether SDSM would back anyone, will also depend on the people who will be nominated. “Let’s first see the candidates nominated by all the parties, because to ask support from the smaller parties, whether it’s DUI, BESA, DPA, the parties of the Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks, Vlachs, the Roma, etc., there needs to be concrete offer and a quality solution. Because there need to be arguments for the candidates themselves when calling on our members and supporters. This applies to our entire country. Not just Tetovo. Tetovo is buzzworthy because it will probably have the most candidates. I believe we’ll find the solutions through the candidates,” Zaev told reporters on Thursday. According to Zaev, support is sometimes possible even in the first round, but it’s also possible that this happens in the second round or maybe even at the end, but he stressed that he believes a coalition will be found. He noted that he had met with DPA and Besa leaders, adding that on Thursday he will meet with DUI leader Ali Ahmeti. “We’ll discuss and reaffirm will to run in the elections together, but he and I can probably not give details today. Procedures on candidates for mayors are still ongoing,” Zaev said. “I believe that in the end will join efforts because that’s the responsibility of all of us, and at the same time I hope that we’ll nurture together the philosophy of one society for all.” Regarding whether SDSM is considering running in the election for mayor of Tetovo with its own ethnic Albanian candidate, the Prime Minister said the party has five candidates in the procedure, three of whom are Albanians nominated by the party’s municipal organization. He said he wouldn’t comment on names of candidates, as the procedures for selecting candidates for mayors are still ongoing.