Izet Mexhiti, the former Mayor of Skopje’s Chair district who now leads the DUI party faction opposed to leader Ali Ahmeti, said that Ahmeti is on the verge of losing touch with reality.

“Ali Ahmeti is our leader, and we supported him for 20 years. We are prepared to continue to support him. The problem is now with us. We ask him not to lose touch with reality. We believe that DUI has lost this touch”, Mexhiti said during a Sitel TV interview.
His faction, that includes former Deputy Prime Minister Musa Xhaferi, and Ahmeti’s faction supported by current key Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi, are crossing the country, trying to rally support among the party followers. Ahmeti and Grubi were at the monument to Albanian hero Skenderbeg today, to honor the 555th anniversary of his death in a nationalist celebration.

It is good that they are meeting with the citizens, trying to hear the voice of the voters, and not just that of those in office. But we believe that we are right and that we can reach some compromise, Mexhiti said. His faction’s key demand is that Grubi is removed from the Government.

Concerned about the possible loss of key votes in Parliament, if Mexhiti’s faction splits, Ahmeti is frantically trying to bring another ethnic Albanian party, Arben Taravari’s Alliance of Albanians, into the coalition. Mexhiti’s move could both bring down the government and creates additional problems for the attempt of the ruling coalition to amend the Constitution along the latest round of demands from Bulgaria.