VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski said that his party is open for pre-election coalitions with a number of parties, including from the Albanian bloc. Macedonia is heading for municipal elections in October, and it’s possible that early general elections will take place at the same time.

I expect support for the local elections with informal, dynamic coalitions over certain candidates, and in pre-election coalitions with some of the parties, whether those from outside of the Parliament or the Albanian opposition parties. We are deeply convinced that VMRO-DPMNE is the largest and best organized political force in the country, Mickoski said in his interview with Fokus.

The two Albanian opposition parties, AA and Alternative, announced they will run alone in the first round, but that they are open for cooperation in the key second rounds, when most of the mayors will be elected. They need a Macedonian partner to win in Albanian majority cities like Tetovo and Gostivar, while Macedonian parties like VMRO need the Albanian support Skopje and Kumanovo. Mickoski said that the least he would expect out of this deal is that, in cities like Tetovo and Gostivar where an Albanian is elected Mayor, an ethnic Macedonian is made President of the municipal council.

The opposition leader added that VMRO will nominate well qualified professionals for municipal leaders and said that he expects to win by at least one mayor and one council member over SDSM, which currently holds the bulk of the municipalities.