Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski held a press conference this evening to express his gratitude to the voters for the major victory in the local elections, where VMRO candidates are dominanting across the country. Mickoski announced that the party is expected to win 30 municipalities in the first round and leads in a majority of the remaining races.

The voters chose candidates dedicated to working and not talking. This is the beginning of new Macedonian energy – calm, determined and just. We showed that we can do politics differently, without insults, anger, hatred, and with dignity and the citizens recognized this, Mickoski said, to loud approval from party supporters.

He condemned the nationalist campaign led by what ended up being VMRO’s main opponent – Ali Ahmeti’s DUI party.

These elections are a message for DUI. Ali Ahmeti boasted that he is the one who appoints and removes Prime Ministers, but I told him to be patient and that he will be surprised on election day. And so it happened. The politics of ethno-centrism was defeated in the elections and the issue of reforms in the opposition is now open. I don’t expect an obedient opposition but one with far more capacity, Mickoski added.