VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski welcomed the announcement from the GROM party that they support VMRO nominee Gordana Siljanovska in her presidential bid. GROM joins the Socialist Party and several other smaller parties allied with VMRO in supporting Siljanovska’s nomination.

She is the first major party candidate to announce her nomination in the run up to the elections scheduled for late April. Mickoski pointed out to the apparent confusion in the ruling camp over their nominee and speculated that it is all a prelude to the inevitable announcement from Zoran Zaev that he will run himself.

Gordana Siljanovska is the true consensual candidate of all Macedonians and all citizens of Macedonia. We are witnessing the twists and turns in the governing coalition, which swerves to the left, then to the right, says they will nominate a consensual candidate, then back out of it.. This soap opera will culminate with nominating the despot Zaev himself as their candidate, Mickoski said.

Zaev ruled out running for President several times, although not before adding that he would be “the ideal candidate”.