The announcement from the opposition Albanian parties that the VV movement of Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti will participate with them in the next elections in Macedonia caused divisive reactions and legal issues.

The opposition parties, such as BESA, have a long established cooperation with VV, and have used Kurti’s anti-corruption message to attack their main rival in Macedonia, the DUI party. But they have also found themselves on Kurti’s side in his dispute with some of Kosovo’s main Western backers, and have inherited his nationalist rhetoric. BESA leader Bilal Kasami even faced charges over the waving of a flag of Greater Albania during Kurti’s visit to Tetovo.

It’s expected that dual Macedonian – Kosovan citizens, who are active in VV in Kosovo, will appear on the list of the united Albanian opposition in Macedonia as candidates. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, whose slim election hopes hang on the support of DUI, raised issues over this cooperation. “It remains to be seen what exactly do they mean when they say that the party of the Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti will join them in the elections. We need to check the electoral code. If political parties from the neighborhood begin to participate in the elections in our state, it could happen that other countries begin to take part in our elections. That would be a not so desirable dynamic”, Kovacevski said.

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said that if the candidates are dual citizens, or have a Macedonian citizenship, then it’s perfectly legal for them to participate in the elections. Mickoski’s party is looking into a post-election coalition with the Albanian opposition parties, in a bid to finally unseat DUI.