Bilal Kasami, the leader of the opposition ethnic Albanian BESA party, said that he will enter into coalition with any party so long as it leads to the toppling of DUI from power.

We will not form a coalition with DUI following the elections. We believe that it is high time DUI was sent to the opposition, to restructure itself and then it can return with fresh energy at the political scene. They should be in the opposition for at least four years. We in BESA want to mobilize the entire pro-opposition Albanian camp, Kasami said, adding that he sees his party and the Alliance of Albanians as the soon to be winners in the Albanian camp.

The perennially ruling Albanian party DUI has been part of the government coalitions almost non stop since 2002, when it was formed, following the civil war its leadership sparked in 2001. The Ali Ahmeti led party was frequently accused of corruption but due to its kingmaker status its officials are immune from any kind of prosecution, be it for war crimes or common corruption.

Pro-Government outlets are frequently pushing BESA and the Alliance of Albanians to declare that they will not form a coalition with VMRO-DPMNE, as this is the surest way to preserve the SDSM – DUI coalition in power. Statements such as this one from Kasami indicate that the Albanian opposition is prepared to join VMRO in a future government. Alliance leader Ziadin Sela, when recently asked who does more damage to the Albanian cause – VMRO or SDSM, also pointed to DUI as the main problem for the Albanians in Macedonia.