Presidential candidate Blerim Reka, nominated by the ethnic Albanian parties AA and BESA, said that the presidential elections will show that Macedonia is prepared to open EU accession talks.

The weather is nice today, I think the mood of the citizens is the same, and I hope that we will show that we are a country that is ready to begin the EU accession talks. We will prove that we have the institutional, administrative and political capacity to move the country toward the Euro-Atlantic integrations, Reka said.

Discussing the exceptionally low turnout in the ethnic Albanian districts, a representative of his campaign said that it shows that a quarter of the population of Macedonia has moved out.
Ziadin Sela, leader of the Alliance of Albanians party which endorsed Reka, echoed his comments, saying that the main topic at the elections is that the country makes its case for joining EU and NATO.