LOCAL PRESS

 

Serbia and Hungary committed to mutual cooperation (RTS)

The third joint session of the Serbian and Hungarian government was held in Nis, after which several inter-state agreements were signed. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic assessed that relations between Serbia and Hungary are the highest historical level and that, with the continuity of holding joint sessions of the two governments, we are sending a strong political message that the two countries are committed to deepening cooperation in all spheres.

Vucic said that the point of the joint session in Nis was improvement of relations between the two countries’ businessmen, increase of trade exchange, attracting investors. Vucic said that Hungary was Serbia’s seventh trade partner, noting that the trade exchange of the two countries in 2015 was 1.1 billion Euros, and somewhat higher this year. “Exports to Hungary increased and I am certain that our economic relations can be even better,” said Vucic.

Vucic said that infrastructural works were also of great importance, especially those on the Belgrade-Budapest railway, Segedin-Baja-Subotica, as well as the works on the Y arm, and recalled that he visited with Prime Minister Viktor Orban part of Corridor 10 that will connect Budapest with Istanbul and Sofia. Vucic noted that they discussed cooperation in the field of irregular migrations, fight against terrorism, and that the two countries were prepared to make cooperation even better. He noted that Serbia was grateful to Hungary on the true support on the EU path, adding that nobody in Europe had spoken so nicely of Serbia.

Orban pointed out that stability in Serbia was of key importance for the stability of the entire Central Europe. “This is also in our interest and that is why we will always support all steps against terrorism and for preserving a secure safety situation in Serbia. We will also support all steps undertaken by Serbia that will try to stop the migration crisis,” Orban said. When it comes to national minorities, Orban said that Serbia was implementing a minority policy that exceeds all European standards. He promised that Hungary would support all those measures and expenses that will help preserve the national identity of the Serbs in Hungary despite the fact that there are far less Serbs in this country than there are Hungarians in Serbia.

 

Nikolic: Dialogue should end if Kosovo becomes member of UNESCO (Politika)

 

If Kosovo would become a member of UNESCO on this UN’s agency General Assembly, I would make a proposal for Serbia to end the talks with Pristina, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told Politika. “It is hypocritical from certain states to insist on the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina that should lead to the final solution, but simultaneously pressure all states who have not recognize Kosovo independence to do so and enable the membership of so-called Kosovo in international organizations,” Nikolic said. He emphasized that changes after the elections in USA gave hope that at least part of justice and international law could come to Serbia.

 

Agreement on implementation of agreement on telecommunications confirmed (Tanjug)

 

The implementation of the Belgrade-Pristina agreement on telecommunications was confirmed in Brussels Friday after three days of discussions, with all details of the implementation coordinated. A new era is beginning for Telekom Srbija - the operator will be available across Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija, and its overall value will increase, said the Head of the Serbian Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. “For the first time in many years, we are integrating our telecommunications system - now we will be able to do this in full capacity in our southern province, and with leading-edge technology,” he said. High-speed internet, 3G and 4G technology will now become available on Mt Sara, Mt Brezovica and in Strpce, Gracanica and Klokot.

 

The agreement on the transfer of property from the Telekom Srbija to the subsidiary company has also been confirmed, with November 29 set as the deadline to complete the necessary paperwork, including the registry in the Kosovo and Metohija cadaster. He noted that every detail of this arrangement was deeply challenging politically speaking, but that these arrangements have paved the way to the new era of the Telekom Srbija in Kosovo and Metohija. “I believe that the new era has dawned for the Telekom Srbija in Kosovo and Metohija and that the overall value of the Telekom Srbija has been stepped up, and for a significant amount, I would say. In short, Telekom Srbija is the mobile communications operator available throughout our territory,” Djuric summed it up.

 

Djuric: Telekom signal for all Kosovo Serbs (Politika)

 

Djuric claims that Telekom Srbija will receive on 29 November all documents from the cadaster whereby this company’s property will be recognized in Kosovo and Metohija. “Serb enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija will receive the best possible mobile telephony signal. What is very important is also the agreement to transfer property, and the provisional institutions in Kosovo and Metohija will recognize Telekom Srbija’s property whereby our telecommunications system will be rounded off,” Djuric tells Politika. He also says that Serbia remains the only owner of the dialing code for Serbia’s territory and that only Serbia is registered by the International Telecommunications Union as the owner of the +381 and +383 dialing codes. “So far, they have used +377 and +386 numbers – Monaco’s and Slovenia’s, and now they will be using a number that is registered on Serbia and that Serbia, if they do not respect agreements, can revoke. We dispose with this number and we are putting it for use for a geographical region,” said Djuric.

 

Vucic: No major breakthrough; Djuric is spreading optimism (Politika)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic assessed that the agreement on the implementation of the agreement on telecommunications between Belgrade and Pristina does not represent a a major breakthrough and pointed out that the Serbian government was only doing its job in order to protect the interests of the Serbs, Tanjug reports. “No major breakthrough here. Marko Djuric was spreading optimism here,” assessed Vucic.

 

Dacic: Telecommunications agreement important for Serbian interests (RTS/Beta)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on that the telecommunications agreement had put an end to all the blackmail and ultimatums that Pristina had forced upon Serbia with for more than two years, adding that the blackmail surrounding the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities would fail too. In a press release by the Foreign Ministry, Dacic said that the telecommunications agreement with Pristina was important from the standpoint of Serbia’s interests, and that it validated government policy, which he described as being constructive in dialog, but uncompromising in the protection of national interests. “The International Telecommunications Union did not recognize Kosovo as a state, or accept Kosovo as a member. Instead, Serbia will apply for a call code for the geographic area of Kosovo and Metohija, while calls between Kosovo and other places in Serbia will remain local,” Dacic explained. He said that the way the issue of Serbian property in Kosovo had been handled was of vital importance to Serbia, because it would be a reference for other open issues.

 

Odalovic: I believe in a different U.S. stand on Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO (RTS)

The State Secretary of the Serbian Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that he believes the new U.S. administration will have a different stand on Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO. “It is interesting that the outgoing administration was the promoter of Kosovo’s UNESCO membership.I believe that there will no longer be such aggressive pressure with the new administration,” said Odalovic. He says that Serbia’s fight against Kosovo’s admission continues, and the country awaits any new such attempts prepared.

 

Kozarev receives Papadopulo (Tanjug)

 

Deputy Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Dusan Kozarev, informed in detail EULEX chief Aleksandra Papadopulo about the existing obstacles for sustainable return of internally displaced persons to Kosovo and Metohija, especially the problems encountered by the Serbs in property disputes. According to him, the burning issue is the slowness of the local judicial bodies, as well as the inability of implementing judicial decisions, whereby the Serbs are prevented from entering their own property even with final judgments. “This is why we consider that the provisional self-administration institutions in Pristina are still insufficiently prepared to take over EULEX’s affairs, especially in the fields that concern the rights and positions of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Kozarev.

Papadopulo informed Kozarev about the missions’ future priorities, explaining that in the upcoming period more judicial cases will be transferred from EULEX on to the local judiciary, but that EULEX would remain present as an observer.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

RS is getting ready to mark anniversary of signing of DPA (Glas Srpske)

 

On the eve of marking the anniversary of signing of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) on 21 November, high ranking officials of Republika Srpska (RS) agreed that the DPA is a symbol and guarantee of peace in post-war B&H and no politician who represents interests of the RS and Serb people has the mandate to accept requests for its revision.

Chair of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic stated that the DPA is a document on which all peoples reached an agreement and he added that any changes to the DPA or a new agreement would “bring B&H back to 1990es and raise question of possible wartime goals”. Ivanic noted that there is no consent on changes to the DPA within B&H and he added that he is convinced that there is no such consent within the international community either.

RS President Milorad Dodik stated that the original DPA and the day it was signed are important for B&H and region and he added that interventions of the international community stained this success. “The DPA did not only bring peace, but it also defined political organization of B&H, which was the basis for reaching peace. The DPA and the framework itself are still a challenge for everyone and it is absolutely clear that this would have been a successful international agreement had it not been violated,” Dodik added and noted that the RS will continue to fight for its original principles.

RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that the DPA confirmed the status of the RS and secured its international acceptance and recognition, which is why every representative of the RS must insist on maximum respecting of the DPA. She assessed that the reasons for decentralization of B&H still exist and added that it is unrealistic and unfair to experiment with the structure established by the DPA.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of B&H Igor Crnadak stated that the DPA represents a minimum of common interests of everyone in B&H and he added that everyone must stop talking about DPA and start turning towards the European integration.

Dragan Covic said that imposing of solutions represents harsh violation of the basic idea of the DPA. “Equality, sovereignty and constitutionality of three constituent peoples in B&H and representatives of others have been violated,” Covic said.

Bakir Izetbegovic said that at the moment it was signed, the DPA “was the only response to situation at the time”. “But it has foreseen that it will soon start to change and move towards better solutions and improvements”, Izetbegovic said.

President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic stated that the official Belgrade, as a guarantor of the DPA will never agree with reduction of rights of the entities, especially of rights of the RS ”which proved it can function”.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated that it is important that this document is consistently implemented and that peace and stability are evident in B&H. Vucic stressed that Serbia would support any kind of agreement reached by the three constituent peoples in B&H. “Anything that goes beyond the agreement of the three peoples – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats – is bad for everything that happens in B&H and in the Western Balkans”, Vucic said.

 

Usurped competences to be brought in line with Dayton agreement (Srna)

 

The RS supports the genuine Dayton Peace Agreement which brought peace and has been functioning for two decades now, says President Milorad Dodik and submits he will demand that all the 83 competences taken away and transferred to the Bosnian state level be brought in line with the 1995 treaty. Dodik emphasizes that RS supports the agreement “from the viewpoint of its letter, not its spirit” and that it has stopped the expansion and very “tumor-like” spreading of the theory about the spirit of the Dayton Peace Agreement. “We are managing to restore the position of adhering to the letter of the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that’s going to be our policy in the future as well, bearing in mind that international representatives have violated international law on several occasions and committed offences that were international in nature by transferring our competences to the state level, breaching the rights acquired through the treaty,” Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka on Sunday.

 

Foreign Embassies to B&H do not want to comment Inzko’s statement (EuroBlic)

 

The daily noted that ambassadors of key members of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) do not have a single stance about whether the Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik should be removed. Namely, the daily asked Embassies of USA, UK, Germany, Russia and France to comment following the statement of High Representative Valentin Inzko that the removal of Dodik should be considered. US Embassy to B&H stated that it expresses the support to the Office of the High Representative and High Representative personally. “We do not comment on individual stances with regard to questions that are matters for the PIC,” the US Embassy to B&H added. The UK Embassy to B&H delivered a similar answer to the daily, by saying that the Embassy does not have a comment on statements of the High Representative which reflect his personal stance. The Embassy of France to B&H briefly stated that “the Ambassador does not have a comment” while the Embassy of Germany to B&H stated that “it is a good and established practice for the international representatives to B&H not to comment on each other’s statements”. The Embassy of Russia to B&H did not deliver its reply to the daily, but the daily reminded that Russian Ambassador to B&H Peter Ivantsov already stated that Inzko “took over responsibilities that are not in line with his mandate” by calling for Dodik’s removal.

 

Inzko says negative trend from RS threaten B&H (Hina)

 

The survival and stability of B&H are threatened by negative trends that started in the RS and now appear to have spilled over to the Federation of B&H, the High Representative Valentin Inzko said on Sunday in a special statement on the 21st anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Inzko said that no one should diminish or forget that the Constitution of B&H, which is part of the Dayton Agreement, affirmed the legal continuity of B&H. “I am mentioning this because 21 years after Dayton there are still political forces within B&H which are promoting, on an almost daily basis, their revisionist interpretation of Dayton that is evidently in contrast with this article of the Constitution,” Inzko said, clearly alluding to problematic interpretations of the Dayton Agreement from the RS, notably its president Milorad Dodik. Unfortunately, for a while now certain political subjects that took active part in the creation of institutions at the state level have been talking about so-called ‘legal violence’ and ‘imposing of decisions’, Inzko said. “None of that is true. The state-level institutions were established in line with the B&H Constitution,” he stressed.

 

Croatian President says she’ll be the first person to welcome Serbia into NATO which she believes will happen (Hina)

 

In today’s world we need more NATO rather than less NATO, Croatian President Koinda Grabar-Kitarovic said on Saturday, stressing that she was confident that U.S. President Elect Donald Trump would continue cooperation in NATO. Speaking at a panel about NATO, held as part of the International Security Forum in Halifax, Canada, Grabar-Kitarovic said that in her opinion after Trump is inaugurated into office his views will be shaped by what he will be briefed about, by international commitments that the United States has made to NATO and by the fact that the situation in the world requires cooperation between Europe and the United States. She is confident Trump will want to leave a positive legacy in NATO. Grabar-Kitarovic stressed that the Open Door Policy towards new members needed to be accelerated.

“Montenegro will (become member of NATO) is a few months, but what about Macedonia? The quibble about the name, can that be more important that the security situation?” the President wondered, adding that she'll be the first person to welcome Serbia into NATO which she believes will happen. Billions of dollars are not going to not scare Russia. I think what is also very important here is our solidarity, being quick and nimble in reacting to Russia’s actions, Grabar-Kitarovic said. “I believe that the mistake we have made with Crimea, with Ukraine was being too slow in our response,” Grabar-Kitarovic stressed. She also said Russia was not an enemy of NATO, adding that cooperation must be developed.

 

Boskovic candidate for foreign minister? (Dan)

 

Current Minister of Education Predrag Boskovic (DPS) will be a candidate for new Montenegrin foreign minister once Prime Minister Dusko Markovic’s government is formed. According to Dan, Boskovic should come into this position once DPS forms a new majority through negotiations with the minorities. Minister of Sports is to be Nikola Janovic (DPS), but Liberal Party also presented a candidate. Bosniak Party should get minister of agriculture. BS asked for ministries of agriculture, labour and social welfare, and vice prime minister focused on regional development, but it remains to be seen whether their conditions will be met. There is also a possibility form special ministry for diaspora, based on current Directorate for diaspora that is now a part of MVPEI. If Markovic is to form the government, new minister of culture could be Zeljko Rutovic, who is currently an assistant to the minister. Personnel changes are expected in ministries of finance, science, interior and labour and social welfare.

 

Russian citizens officially under the investigation (Pobjeda)

 

Russian citizen Eduard Vladimirovich Shirokov and Vladimir Nikolayevich Popov are officially under the investigation of Montenegrin Special State Prosecutor’s Office, which charges them of heading the criminal organization that prepared terrorist attack on October 16, reports Pobjeda. The newspaper states that the investigation has been expanded to the three citizens of Serbia- Predrag Bogicevic, Nemanja Ristic and Milos Jovanovic. Montenegrin investigators will request hearing and extradition of the two from Serbian authorities. The newspaper also states that it is the first concrete report that a member of the criminal organization from political structure of the Democratic Front (DF), after the outbreak of the chaos in front of the Parliament building, should have continued commanding persons clashing police officers. The Special State Prosecutor’s Office said for Television of Montenegro that the institution would address the public only after all conditions are met.

 

Code for fair and democratic election signed by parties and coalitions (MIA)

 

Coalitions and political parties taking part at the 11 December elections signed Sunday a Code for fair and democratic electoral process, ahead of start of the election campaign.

“Elections that are fair, democratic and observe the principles of democracy and good governance contribute to the society's democratic development. Through their activities, election participants set the foundations of democracy and contribute to the confidence building in Macedonia’s electoral process,” said State Election Commission (SEC) president Aleksandar Cicakovski.

VMRO­DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski signed the code on behalf of the coalition led by the ruling party, SDSM leader Zoran Zaev for the opposition coalition, Izet Mexhiti­ - DUI, Menduh Thaci­ - DPA, Gzim Ostreni­ - Coalition Alliance of Albanians, Ivon Velickovski­ - Liberal Party, Stojance Angelov - Coalition VMRO for Macedonia, Pavle Trajanov­ - Coalition for Changes and Justice, Bilal Kasami - Besa, Zdravko Saveski - ­Levica and Muhamed Halili ­PDP.

The event was also attended by the ambassadors of the United States, Germany, France, Great Britain, EU Deputy­ Ambassador, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission, SEC members and party officials.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Kosovo Stalls on Serbian Municipal Association (BIRN, by Die Morina, 21 November 2016)

 

Kosovo officials are dampening down expectations that the agreement on setting up an autonomous Association of Serbian municipalities will happen this year.

Despite reports that the Kosovo government will push ahead with the establishment of an autonomous Association of Serbian Municipalities in the mainly Serbian north of the country, officials have confirmed to BIRN that an agreement is not in sight yet.

Bajram Gecaj, deputy minister for local government, stated that the government has much work ahead before the agreement can move forward. Amid continuing protests against the deal from opposition parties and with Serbian MPs currently boycotting parliament, the government is not rushing to formally propose the model that would give the Serbian community more autonomy at local level.

 

Although the government formed a working group to draft the statute of the Serbian association in July, Gecaj said no steps have been taken in that direction. As BIRN previously reported, the EU-mediated agreement between Serbia and Kosovo reached in mid-2015 envisaged that the statute of the Association would be drafted within four months, a deadline that expired last December. But Gecaj told BIRN that work on the draft statute could take more months, as Kosovo's institutions were now busy working on the agreement on telecommunications with Serbia. “The work on the draft has not yet begun. We had the telecom issue and now, after this agreement was reached, we will be waiting for signals, but it will take a few months,” Gecaj said. Another problem that could cause delays, according to Gecaj, is that Kosovo Serb parliamentarians are currenrly boycotting government institutions over a separate issue, the adoption of controversial law on the disputed Trepca mine complex, which Serbia also claims.

“The political timing is not appropriate, as contacts with Lista Srpska are not that good because of disagreements over the Law of Trepca,” he added.

 

The association would have broad powers, including a president, vice-president, assembly, council, coat-of-arms and a flag. While the government formally pledges support for the idea, the opposition Vetevendosje party has strongly opposed the agreement ever since it was signed, often throwing teargas in parliament. The party has said it will "act the same way" if there is any new attempt by the government to proceed with it. “Our political commitment is to block the process before it comes to the assembly. The other opposition parties are also against the association,” the chief of Vetevendosje's parliamentary group, Glauk Konjufca, told BIRN.

 

A Pristina-based political analysis, Agon Maliqi, said that following adoption of the telecoms deal with Serbia, the municipalities issue would probably be on the table in Brussels soon.

He said the Albanian parties in government had slow down the process of establishing the association, waiting for a more appropriate political moment, after this agreement caused tensions between government and opposition parties. "The fact that Kosovo institutions failed to ratify the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro is an additional problem that can cause delays," Maliqi noted. “Establishing the association is difficult politically, as this government couldn’t establish the demarcation [with Montenegro] either,” he said. A possible solution, according to Maliqi, could be the inclusion of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK and NISMA parties in the process of drafting the statute.

 

MEP Eduard Kukan: An Update on European Integration of the Western Balkans EUBulletin, 21 November 2016)

 

Interview with Eduard Kukan (Member of European Parliament and former Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister)

 

EUBULLETIN: Which countries in the Western Balkans are currently the closest to joining the European Union?

Eduard Kukan: If you look at the current situation in the accession negotiations in Western Balkans, the frontrunner is clearly Montenegro. This country started the negotiations two years ago and it already closed several preliminary chapters and more new chapters are being opened. Although the Serbs don’t like it very much but it is clear that Montenegro is a true leader in the negotiation process. The Serbs don’t like the fact that we call Montenegro the leader – there is basically some kind of historical rivalry between these two countries like between the Czechs and Slovaks. (laughing)

And the second is Serbia, which is also in the process of going through the accession negotiations, several chapters were opened but the process will be difficult and more complicated because of the Kosovo issue. Some EU Member States are even asking Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo, and although there is not any official EU document that would request Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo, it is still a difficult issue. What everybody is calling upon Serbia to do is to regulate and normalize the relationship with Kosovo. Yes, they reached an agreement about the normalization and now they should implement what has been agreed. So, this is an additional burden for Serbia, which would make it to take a longer time for this country to become an EU member.

 

EUBULLETIN: Why are, in your view, the other candidates for the EU membership lagging behind?

Eduard Kukan: Montenegro and Serbia are the only two countries, which are negotiating now. Turkey is also involved in the EU accession negotiations but we should put this country into a completely different category. It would be good if also Albania could join these negotiations. Albania already has the candidate country status and, provided they deliver on some reforms this year, they would get the date when they could also start the accession negotiations. So, these are the countries that we could expect to sooner or later become the next new members of the European family – but this will take time, eight years or nine years, but not earlier.

 

EUBULLETIN: You mentioned Montenegro being a frontrunner in the accession negotiations and Serbia lagging behind. But do you see as one of the problems with Serbia the fact that this country’s political elite clearly has conflicting allegiances? They appear to be somewhat divided about whether Serbiashould align itself more with the EU or Russia?

Eduard Kukan: I firmly believe that Serbia is going to the European Union – that’s what we hear from the Serbian leaders, especially with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic who is the most influential politician there and the way he explains it makes us believe that he sincerely wants his country to be a member of the European Union. But the issues you mentioned that they are sometimes cooperating closer with Russia, they have the argument that if they would cut their economic relations with Russia, then that would be very difficult for them. I don’t think that all these arguments, which they are using, are valid. I think that the EU should be more strict with Serbia because even if it don’t apply sanctions against Russia saying that Serbia is not a member of the European Union, well this is ok but you would still expect from the country, which is preparing to join our EU family, that it would behave more friendly and be closer to us and not to the other side. I hope that Serbia will make the right choice in the future.

 

EUBULLETIN: The last question concerns the migration crisis. To what extent, do you think, has the fact that hundreds of thousands of these migrants have transited through the Western Balkans can destabilize this region, particularly in light of the fact that many of the Muslim migrants have stayed in these economically vulnerable countries along the way?

Eduard Kukan: I think this is a question or an issue that we should be worried about – I think we should take it seriously. Unless we pay a proper attention and use the necessary measures to keep the situation under control, we can face a very dangerous situation in the future. So, I think this is a difficult problem and the European Union should really provide all the necessary assistance to its partners in the Western Balkans to cope with the situation because it is a big burden for them.

Dr Eduard Kukan has been a Member of the European Parliament where he has been also serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1999, he was appointed United Nations Special Envoy on Kosovo by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a role he held alongside Carl Bildt. From 1998 to 2006, Dr. Kukan was the Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister. He graduated from Comenius University’s Faculty of Law and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

 

Starting Gun Fires For Macedonia Election (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 21 November 2016)

 

The campaign for Macedonia's December 11 early general election officially got underway on Monday with rallies planned for Prilep, Ohrid, Lipkovo and the capital, Skopje.

Macedonia's election campaign formally started on Monday and over the next 20 days the parties will be holding rallies and round tables and trying to visit as many places as they can.The ruling VMRO-DPMNE party of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and its ethnic Albanian partner, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, are keeping the slogans of their inaugural rallies under wraps for now. VMRO-DPMNE plans to hold its first rally in the lakeside town of Ohrid, where it traditionally begins its campaigns.

The DUI is starting its campaign in the rural municipality of Lipkovo. Gruevski who came to power in 2006, and whose government was shaken in early 2015 by revelations of the illegal wiretapping of thousands of people, is seeking a new mandate. He argues that his government boosted the economy and improved the welfare of ordinary people despite a deep political crisis, which he says was imposed by the opposition. The DUI’s main point is fuller implementation of the 2001 Ohrid framework Accord, which ended a six-month civil conflict in the country by granting more rights to ethnic Albanians who make up about a quarter of the population. The DUI leader, Ali Ahmeti, has promised to make Albanians in Macedonia fully equal after the elections.

The main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, has departed from its tradition of starting its campaigns in the capital, Skopje, and has decided to hold the first rally in the town of Prilep. While the party has not yet unfurled its election slogan, it previously promoted its platform under the motto, "Plan for Life in Macedonia". The party accuses VMRO DPMNE of undermining democratic freedom, corruption and illegal wiretapping, and pledges to undertake radical democratic reforms, investigate high-level corruption and ensure economic progress.

A new alliance of several small rightist and centrist parties, the "Coalition for Change and Justice", appears to be the only one launching its campaign in Skopje. This alliance is critical of the existing government, accusing it of attacking democracy and udermining prosperity and replacing it with widespread corruption. Amid a deep political crisis, parliament postponed two election dates earlier this year. The third date, scheduled for December, follows the signing of an EU-backed "renewed crisis agreement" signed by all parties in the summer. The agreement put in place an interim government, including ministers from the opposition parties, and is aimed at ensuring that elections are free and fair.