The Alliance of Albanians (AA) rejected the offer from the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) that parties representing ethnic Albanians sign a treaty to advance their national interests in Macedonia. As the slightly larger party, DUI often pushes for a solidification of the Albanian vote behind them. AA responded with allegations that DUI stole the election by ballot stuffing and is preparing for a protest in Skopje this afternoon.

I hear the DUI spokesman talking about five national policy pillars but he is forgetting the sixth pillar, the pillar of shame, where the Albanian vote was degraded and stolen by local gangs. Robbing the voters of the free will is destroying the European democratic values our people strive for, said AA Vice President Arben Taravari, adding that the Albanian parties already began cooperation under the Tirana platform in 2017, but that DUI never called for a new meeting of the parties after that.

AA leader Ziadin Sela also responded to DUI leader Ali Ahmeti, calling his proposal worthless. The BESA party, which participated in the elections in coalition with SDSM, said that it is still waiting for DUI to invite them to an official meeting where Ahmeti’s proposals will be reviewed.

Ahmeti proposes that the Albanian parties agree to unite in at most two lists and that the party which wins a single vote more than the competing Albanian party, will “speak for all Albanians”, and the losing party supports the winning party on all strategic issues. DUI won 15 seats in the elections with the Alliance of Albanians winning 12 (while alleging ballot stuffing on the part of DUI), and a share of the Albanian vote also went to SDSM/BESA and the smaller DPA party.