Instead of removing him from office or asking that the borders are closed, Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce responded to the scandal caused by his official Arben Ziberi merely by admonishing him on Twitter. Ziberi, who is a DUI party official, bragged on Albanian language media that he got the Commission on infectious diseases to open the border so that more members of the Albanian diaspora can come and vote on July 15 for DUI.

This caused outrage in the public which is wary of the high level of coronavirus deaths and infections,  and saw the decision to open the borders to all passengers, without quarantine or even the need to produce a negative Covid-19 test, as an opely political move even before Ziberi confirmed these fears. Ziberi is head of the Public health institute and a key member of the Commission that makes recommendations on preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

The fact that you are in a campaign doesn’t allow you to spread falsehoods and undermine the work of our Commission. We’ve trying to build confidence for the past four months. We never made decisions driven by politics and you know it. You statement is very worrying, Filipce said in his Twitter message aimed at Ziberi, trying to deny his acknowledgement that the decision was made based on naked partisan politics. The borders open tomorrow.

Ziberi said that “All our diaspora voters are welcome, you can come without testing or quarantine, thanks to our contribution to the healthcare policies of the Government. Come home and let’s elect an Albanian as Prime Minister”, Ziberi said.

Filipce stated that he is not sure whether he has the authority to dismiss Ziberi from his position, and ignored the issue of whether the travel restrictions should be reintroduced before it’s too late, in light of Ziberi’s shocking admission.

The DUI party was unrepentant after the scandal. “Arben Ziberi is a candidate for member of Parliament in the 1st electoral district and he has the right to make political statements”, the party said. Macedonia currently has by far the worst infection and mortality rate in the region, as it undergoes a Second Wave of the epidemic, which is most pronounced precisely in the ethnic Albanian community, where those diaspora members who come to vote would spend the most time.