Why did you apply for a candidate, and what was, in your opinion, crucial for VMRO-DPMNE to entrust you with the presidential nomination?

I certainly can speak on my behalf about my motivation to enter the political ring and run for president of the Republic. Simply, I came to the realization that whatever I do as a Constitutional Law professor and as an intellectual, it cannot be enough to prevent the further destruction of the rule of law and institutions by selling national interests. As for the VMRO-DPMNE, the party itself opened up to the public, allowed fair confrontation to all registered candidates and held a democratic convention for election. Which means nothing could be agreed in advance, although I entered that part of the race as an outsider, as someone who is not a member of the party, as a woman, and in addition, I had strong and valuable rivals, and I primarily refer to the MP Vlatko Gjorcev.

What is “selling national interests” for you?

They changed the Constitution and the name although the Parliament had previously passed a resolution that the name and the Constitution cannot be changed. Changing the name of the country is the most striking example of selling national interests. Not only have the authorities renounced the existence of the Macedonian minority in the neighboring countries, but also they took away Macedonian people’s right to self-determination, obtained in 1944 at the plenary session of ASNOM, which is a basic law, jus cogens, and now the Macedonians are equated with other smaller ethnic communities in the country.

Your opponent, Professor Stevo Pendarovski, was supported by the Albanians as well. In fact, SDSM leader Zaev stressed that “Pendarovski was supported by all ethnic communities in North Macedonia, as well as 31 coalition parties headed by Prime Minister’s SDSM”. It seems to be a great advantage. Who supports you. Who will vote for you?

It is a show that the ruling parties want to create, before asking the Albanian citizens and all the rest. They want to present me exclusively as a representative of the Macedonians while forgetting that I already got support from many parties and civic associations of Serbian, Turkish, Roma and other nationalities. Unlike the procedure that I already explained to you, SDSM played with the interparty democracy by first announcing a public call, and then deciding to elect its candidate at the Hilton Hotel, in a closed circle of the cartel with a foreign elite. The truth is that the Social Democratic Union achieved great success among the Albanian voters in the last parliamentary elections, but today the discontent is evident among all voters, regardless of ethnicity. The authorities then won votes on the promises of justice, fight against corruption, that the standard of living would improve, and in reality, none of this happened. I address all citizens, I neither divide them by ethnicity nor do I enter a vote trading, called contingent. Nevertheless, the third candidate is Albanian, my colleague Blerim Reka, so in the first round, we will see if Pendarovski really enjoys blank support from the Albanians, and most importantly, whether this government is ready and able to organize fair and democratic elections.

The political situation in Macedonia is little known to the citizens of Serbia. As if that suited to someone. Can you tell the readers in Serbia what are the main motives of your campaign, what do you think will win the voters?

The main slogan of my campaign is in line with my professional and life vocation, which is the rule of law, constitutionalism and protection of human rights. With the change of the country’s name, Prime Minister Zaev and his government partners tried to find a shortcut, and quickly get to NATO membership, and they seem to be on the right track. But the other side of the coin shows that the collateral damage in the process is too great, not only in terms of national interests and violations of the principles of democracy, but above all in violating the procedures, and without respecting the procedure there is no democracy! There is almost no day without scandals that show that one family is replaced by another, that clientelism, cronyism, and nepotism rule! Macedonia has drastically gone up on the list where countries in the world are ranked according to corruption, there are no free media, the judiciary and public administration are put in the service of one party … Zaev himself admits that public support has dropped, and I think that citizens are looking forward to punishing the ruling coalition precisely because of these examples of an incompetent and corrupt elite.

Are the name change and the path to NATO an irreversible process? Are you, if you win, going to be the “President of North Macedonia”?

The strategic goal of all the governments of Macedonia was to join NATO. Regarding the name change, if I become president, I will keep the name issue open, I will set up an international expert group that will write an objective report on the violation of national and international law and we will act on that report. I do not accept the name North Macedonia.

The key political developments in Macedonia in recent years were marked by mass protests and a great emotional charge. Do you think that the atmosphere of the elections will be regular and whether the real mood of the voters will be expressed?

I expect that the citizens will understand that real reforms, as well as Europeanization based on the rule of law, are of crucial importance for Macedonia. Emotions are important, but the law is more important. It is necessary for voters to massively go to the polls in order to delegitimize the authoritarian government. The silent majority who said “no” in the referendum, or rather, those who massively boycotted the referendum on the name change, are the ones I expect to vote for me, but also some of those who were in favor of changing the name, but the government had disappointed them.

What kind of Europe will you lead Macedonia to? What kind of future do you want for Europe, and what are your predictions?

The EU is not the same as when we applied for membership 15 years ago, as there are more and more movements within the Union that seek its reformation. The future of the European Union is its internal issue, but it is certain that reforms are needed in it, but also in the countries that pretend membership. We must raise the level of democracy and the rule of law, and in that sense, reforms within the country are a priority for us. That’s the true Europeanization.

What kind of behavior do you expect from the representatives of the international community in Skopje?

I expect the international community, and especially the OSCE / ODIHR, to be the guarantor of the regularity of the elections, and that there will be no scandalous ballot stuffing as during the referendum. A large number of observers have already been announced and we count on them because we cannot rely on the government. Macedonia is a partner of the international community, so I expect for us to apply the same standards that apply to other countries.

Where is Serbia on your political horizon?

Serbia is where it has always been, close to Macedonia and its citizens. Regardless of all changed circumstances, the stories about the geopolitical spheres of interests, divisions, boundaries, and the like. I’m glad that our citizens travel from one country to another with IDs, that the road infrastructure is improved, and in the cultural and sports field we have always worked closely. In my vision for Macedonia, it is networked in close regional cooperation, because we cannot talk about European integration if we do not show those skills in our region.

You can read the original interview HERE.