The coming local elections will be a turning point for Macedonia. VMRO-DPMNE completed its cycle of reforms and transformation and we offer new candidates in the mayoral races who will create the future policies of the country, said opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski, during the event the VMRO-DPMNE party held in Bitola, to honor the 30th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence.

This is worth doing for the young people in the cities and the villages of our country who hope for a better life, who live in hope which we must not quash. We will be patriots working for better standards and justice, for higher wages, for not being silenced, we will fight corruption and work to join the European Union so we are on equal footing and strong, Mickoski said.

The celebration of Macedonia’s independence was divided, with the ruling coalition staging a parade in downtown Skopje that did not include opposition representatives. The celebration was cut short by the news of the tragic hospital fire in Tetovo that killed 14 Covid patients.