The Eight Principles – a road without handicap

Kostadin Bogdanov

The Republic of Macedonia is a state that has a constitutional determination to develop as a parliamentary democracy. First of all, it is understood that the political parties, the actors of that parliamentarianism, are, from within, structurally and functionally democratically placed. Only this way can the democratic character of the state be guaranteed. On the other hand, the parties with an internal democratic deficit cannot be expected to be factors in the progressive processes in a democratic society, regardless of their program documents and the rhetorical implications embedded in party acts, and whether they are in a position of power or in opposition.

Hence, for VMRO-DPMNE at this moment it is crucial to implement the proposed changes to the Statute of the party without delay. These changes will be the biggest factor for uniting inside the party. They will widely open the gate for farewell to the non-consistent and non-constructive policies of the party that were dependent only on the mood of one or several people in the party. They will return the party back into the hands of membership, and thus will bring back the internal energy for new victories. Finally, those changes will mark the beginning of the internal and external de-isolation of the party, and thus the beginning of the new era for even stronger VMRO-DPMNE, a VMRO-DPMNE that will soon be prepared to get the honor of managing the state once again.

The essential reforms in VMRO-DPMNE are inevitable. The eight principles of acting of the party embedded in the “Declaration on Democratization and Modernization of VMRO-DPMNE” is the basis behind which should now be stopped now. Only in this way can any public doubt about someone’s “puppetry” or prolonged “autocratic” rule with the party be removed.

First of all, redefinition of the competencies and the manner of selection of the existing organs of the party should start. The principle of incompatibility of functions must be incorporated in the Statute to prevent the concentration of all party power in the hands of only one person.
Second, statutory changes should establish new bodies in the party at the municipal level through which the party will be decentralized and will strengthen the participation of wider membership in decision-making, especially in the local staffing policy.

Third, the changes to the statute should restore the true role of the Central Committee of the party as the representative body of the wider membership. That body is the voice of membership. That body must not be abducted by other organs, especially by the way of its choice.

In that direction, one of the possible solutions is to constitute a new body – Assembly of the municipal committee of VMRO-DPMNE. The assembly of the municipal committee will be composed of directly elected presidents of polling station committees and of local committees by the members of the party, as well as representatives of the expert committees of the municipal committees. The Assembly will be competent to elect a president of the municipal committee and to establish a list for the election of councilors and mayors, as well as to decide on all personnel decisions at the local level.
Fourth, the Central Committee of the Party must be a driving force and a party engine in the whole organization, a forum where freely exchanged opinions and views of directly elected representatives from municipal committees from all over the country and will define the policies of the party. The party’s central committee should be managed by the chairman / chairman of the Central Committee, elected from its ranks, which, among other things, will provide some sort of balance in terms of the power derived from the party’s executive functions. and from municipal committees from all over the country and will define the policies of the party.

Fifth, part of the current responsibilities of the executive committee should be transferred to the Central Committee as the representative body of the wider membership. The composition of the Executive Committee of VMRO-DPMNE should be with a strictly limited number of members and competencies. The Executive Committee no longer has the opportunity to directly or indirectly propose or approve members of the Central Committee of the party, nor have the opportunity to influence the election of presidents of municipal committees or municipal assemblies or other party officials in the unions, councils or other bodies of the party the party. All personnel decisions at the central level should be the responsibility of the Central Committee of the party as a body representing the membership.

Sixth, the President of the Party should have exactly defined powers that enable the creation of the policies and representation of the Party to the public and the institutions. The president of the party should have a limited number of mandates, if there is a real desire to eradicate intra-party clientism and sultanism.
These are just a part of the proposals behind the VMRO-DPMNE Intra-party Initiative Reform over the last few months. We deeply believe that the implementation of these principles, within the framework of the new Statute of VMRO-DPMNE, will have a positive effect on both the members of the party and the new party leadership of the party. Now is the moment to jointly shape the new face of the party, which, I believe, will become an example for other parties in the state, not only for the members of VMRO-DPMNE, but also for the entire society that has only one alternative – Euro-Atlantic integration.