SDSM held a press conference on Tuesday at which it publicly proposed to VMRO-DPMNE that these two parties support a joint above-party candidate, Srgjan Kerim. SDSM Acting Chairman Zoran Zaev explained that this would prevent accusations among the parties on rigging and boycott of the presidential election. He said that this would help ensure that the presidential elections are successful, noting that if an agreement is reached between these two parties, the conditions set by NATO and the EU would be fulfilled. Zaev added that he expects VMRO-DPMNE and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to consider this proposal seriously and to state their position as soon as possible.
Just one hour after SDSM’s press conference, VMRO-DPMNE revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavrevski and a group of influential VMRO-DPMNE members had proposed that Professor Gjorgji Ivanov be their candidate for president. Professor Ivanov said for A1 Television that he accepted this candidature because he believes that Macedonia can move forward. “I accepted the nomination of a group of intellectuals and VMRO-DPMNE members. This is a really great honor, as well as a big responsibility for such function in these difficult times,” Ivanov stated.
Srgjan Kerim said for Telma Television that he was not consulted about such idea. “I heard on the electronic media about the proposal that I be joint candidate of the two biggest parties. This means that I was not consulted about this. The question whether I would agree to be nominated for president of the state at this moment, is a hypothetical question. This is a responsible function and a responsible procedure. When I am consulted about this issue, I will be able to give a concrete answer to this question,” Kerim stated briefly. He added that the idea for an above-party presidential candidate deserves serious consideration.
VMRO-DPMNE sources said for Nova Makedonija that Kerim’s chances of being this party’s presidential candidate are fading because Kerim also had contacts with and requested support from SDSM. Kerim does not deny that he held contacts with SDSM, explaining that this party proposed to him that he be their presidential candidate. He said that he declined this offer because he wants to be on the winning side, that is, with VMRO-DPMNE.
Meanwhile, well-informed sources of Spic informed that Prime Minister Gruevski cancelled the meeting with former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski, which was scheduled for Tuesday, 13 January. Spic has learned that it is becoming more and more certain that Boskoski would not enter VMRO-DPMNE’s competition for selection of a presidential candidate. “Most probably we will collect 10,000 signatures, necessary for one to be able to submit a candidature for president of the state,” the daily’s source informed.
The trial for the “Rastanski Lozja” case, which former Interior Minister Boskoski is indicted for, will start in the County Court in Pula, Croatia, in February.
The talks on the name, the state's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and building the state's international standing will be the main themes of the election campaigns, Vreme writes. Besides the state’s national interests, the election platforms will also focus on long-term economic growth and development of democracy. Internal cohesion in the society, resolving of the ideological differences, and abating the interethnic tensions and the tensions inside the ethnic communities will be the dominant domestic issues in the campaigns.
