In a transparent attempt to court the Albanian vote ahead of the presidential elections in 2024, Stevo Pendarovski visited Tetovo where he endorsed the demand of the Albanian parties that the Constitution is amended to make the Albanian language co-official with the Macedonian. Currently, as result of the 2001 Ohrid peace treaty, the Albanian language is used as official, but under the designation “any other language spoken by at least 20 percent of the population”.

I would support this change. I think it’s a normal, natural thing. Why would some ethnic identity, which was clearly pointed out, be hidden behind numbers, Pendarovski said.

This proposal complicates the Government’s attempt to include the Bulgarian minority in the Constitution. Getting votes for this demand is hard enough without adding a new politically charged request to the mix. VMRO-DPMNE responded to this proposal by asking that Ohrid treaty is revised in the opposite direction, and Macedonia is again declared the nation state of the Macedonians, offering to vote to include the Bulgarian minority if this is done.