SDSM and DUI leaders to discuss consensual candidate for the upcoming elections


Zoran Zaev and Ali Ahmeti will meet today and discuss option on consensual presidential candidate in Skopje-based MPs Club.

“Certainly if we agree on this issue, we will need to extend the support, first with the coalition parties, and then with other groups, in order to provide a wide consensus. We have defined that ethnic or party affiliation of the candidate is not important,” Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani said.

DUI leader Ali Ahmeti in an interview with RTK said that although cooperation was offered to the Albanian opposition for a common Albanian candidate, but unfortunately both opposition parties refused. He said that willingness exists to reach an agreement on a consensual candidate for president at today’s meeting with coalition partners, but that depends on both sides.

The Alliance for the Albanians party and Besa Movement are against joint presidential candidate with DUI. Afrim Gashi’s Besa still does not have position, while DPA will only support the joint candidate.

The parties from the SDSM-led coalition at last night’s meeting agreed on a joint candidate for president, as they say, in the interest of all citizens.

“SDSM leader Zoran Zaev will continue consultations with parties from the Albanian bloc in the government coalition, as well as with other parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, both ruling and opposition, on possibility of having mutual candidate in the presidential elections,” SDSM told late Sunday.

Opposition VMRO-DPMNE at a party convention on Saturday elected university professor Gordana Siljanovska Davkova to run for president at the forthcoming elections.