Macedonia's Presidential Elections 2019: the Candidates Anastas Vangeli

ISSN: 2560-1601

Vol. 17, No. 1 (MK)

April 2019

North Macedonia political briefing: Macedonia's Presidential Elections 2019: The Candidates Anastas Vangeli

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Macedonia's Presidential Elections 2019: The Candidates

Introduction

Three candidates are competing for the Macedonian Presidency in 2019: Stevo Pendarovski, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, and Blerim Reka. All of them are professors in social sciences, who have entered the electoral campaign portraying themselves as “independent” candidates who opted to collect 10.000 signatures each, instead of seeking the support of 30 Members of the Parliament for their candidacy. In reality, however, all three of them have had the support of Parliamentary political parties, and managed to collect the signatures thanks to the mobilization of the respective parties' organizational resources. Stevo Pendarovski is backed by the governing coalition led by SDSM and DUI; Gordana Siljanovska Davkova is backed by the ethnic Macedonian opposition led by VMRO-DPMNE; and Blerim Reka is backed by the ethnic Albanian opposition led by Besa and Alliance for Albanians. The public opinion polls suggest that none of the candidates has a chance to win the elections in the first round on April 21; it is certain that Pendarovski and Siljanovska will square off in the second round on May 5. For now, Pendarovski seems to be the front-runner, however his lead in front of Siljanovska remains within the margin of error. Below we introduce the candidates and their campaigns.

The Candidates

Stevo Pendarovski, born in 1963 in Skopje, is nominally an independent candidate running with the support of SDSM, DUI, and their junior coalition partners. The official support of DUI for Pendarovski is significant as he is the first ethnic Macedonian candidate for the Presidency to be officially endorsed by DUI ahead of the first round of the elections. Pendarovski ran in the 2014 Presidential elections with the support of SDSM, and made it to the second round, where he lost against Gjorge Ivanov (DUI has informally backed Ivanov in the second round in 2014). Pendarovski and his supporters had disputed the electoral outcome in 2014 and blamed for irregularities. His 2019 campaign often refers to this episode, perpetuating the trope of the “stolen victory” in 2014 and frequently implying that he is the moral winner of the elections in 2014.

Pendarovski has both political and academic background. His public service record is extensive. He worked for the Security Service 1991-2001; he also served as a spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior 1998-2001, during the first VMRO-DPMNE government. In the period 2001-2004 he served as a National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic, Boris Trajkovski of VMRO-DPMNE. In the period 2004-2005 he chaired the National Electoral Commission. In 2006-2009 he was hired as an advisor on Foreign Affairs to the President of the Republic, Branko Crvenkovski. After the electoral campaign in 2014, he remained active in the anti-VMRO-DPMNE coalition led by SDSM. He was elected to be part of the SDSM- led coalition in the Parliament in 2016. In 2017, he became a National Coordinator for NATO accession, overseeing Macedonia's preparations to join the military alliance. Outside of his political career, he is a tenured international relations professor at the American College in Skopje, a private university.

Pendarovski's 2019 campaign slogan is “Forward, together.” His central message is that Macedonia needs reconciliation and unification of all citizens to ensure the country's future in the NATO and EU, and that the wellbeing of the citizens should have priority over the success of any political party. He emphasizes the need for further advancing Macedonia's Euroatlantic agenda, and building strong regional relations. Pendarovski promises eight projects that would define his presidency: a forum for political dialogue beyond political partisanship; establishing channels for direct contact between the President and the constituency; establishing a center for political education sponsored by the President; establishing a fund for scholarships for students and researchers; setting up an annual conference on science and technology; hosting volunteering events to promote social solidarity; pursuing gender equality agenda; hiring representatives of all ethnic communities to work at the Cabinet of the President.

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, born 1955 in Ohrid, is a nominally independent candidate running with the support of VMRO-DPMNE and its junior coalition partners. Siljanovska has a rich academic background, with some political involvement in the past; however, she has been considered a public intellectual and social activist, which led her to being chosen as a candidate by VMRO-DPMNE.

Siljanovska is a tenured professor at the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus” at the University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje where she works for more than 30 years, and is one of the most accomplished scholars on Macedonia's political system and constitutional law. She has served as an advisor to various international organizations, including the United

Nations; and was a founder, member and/or supporter of a number of civil society organizations and initiatives in Macedonia in the period after the independence of the country. Siljanovska served as a Minister without Portfolio in the Government led by Branko Crvenkovski of SDSM in the period 1992-1994. She was a representative of Macedonia at the Venice Commission in the period 2008-2016. Siljanovska was an active participant in the mobilization of students and professors against the new Law on Education in 2015-2016 and was considered to be part of the broader movement against Gruevski's government; however, she was also a vocal opponent of the Prespa Agreement in 2018-19.

Siljanovska's campaign slogan is “Justice for Macedonia. The Fatherland is Calling!” Her central message is that under the current rule of the coalition SDSM-DUI, Macedonia has faced great injustice and faces existential threat; the change of the name of the country being only one of them. Siljanovska has argued that Macedonia has major problems with the rule of law, democratic procedures, economic progress, transparency, corruption, and a number of other issues. She has been promoting her vision for Macedonia based on responsible, moral and competent leadership that will restore the national dignity. Siljanovska has also argued that she will advance Macedonia's Euroatlantic accession and that Macedonia's future is interrelated with its NATO and EU membership. Siljanovska has portrayed herself as a woman who has synthesized the traditional and modern; and as a critical intellectual who has often challenged various governments. She has argued that Macedonia needs a strong woman to take the Presidency, as “women can clean up the mess.”

Blerim Reka, born in 1960 in Skopje, is an independent candidate running with the support of the two ethnic Albanian parties Besa and Alliance for the Albanians. Reka is the only ethnic Albanian candidate (and the only non-ethnic Macedonian) running for the presidency in 2019. Like his opponents, Reka has both academic and political background. He is a tenured professor in Law at the Southeast European University in Tetovo. Reka has also been a Fulbright fellow at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is a former Head of Mission to the EU in Brussels (of Ambassadorial rank), and has served as an expert for the Macedonian and the Kosovo governments.

Reka presents what he calls a Republican idea for Macedonia; his official campaign slogan is “Reka for the Republic.” He argues that Macedonia so far has established itself as a state, but not yet as a Republic. He envisions Macedonia as a multi-ethnic and Euroatlantic

Republic; he sees the Republic as an antidote of the captured and privatized state; a Republic of opportunities that can reverse the brain drain; and a Republic in which there is a rule of law, and not rule of man. He has criticized the current political mechanisms that distribute individual and collective rights based on ethnic quotas, and argued for full equality of all citizens of the country (and in particular of the ethnic minorities); this, according to him can be achieved only by restoration of the Republican ideals. Reka has nevertheless primarily aimed at attracting the vote of ethnic Albanians, arguing that if Albanians want to advance their rights, they need to vote for him, and not for the candidate backed by DUI (that is Pendarovski). He has argued that Albanians should not be reduced to the role of voters, but also to be candidates, in order to fully enjoy the benefits of democracy.

Reka's candidacy is considered to be idealistic and symbolic, as he has no chance of winning enough votes to enter the second round. On the long run, however, his candidacy is an investment for the smaller ethnic Albanian parties to gain visibility and to win over some of the votes of DUI, the leading ethnic Albanian party in the country. Both of the political parties that support Reka have been in and out of the ruling coalition led by SDSM and DUI in the past two years. Nevertheless, in the context of the Presidential elections, Reka and his supporters embrace their identity as members of the opposition, and their campaign sends a critical message to both SDSM and DUI; they criticized the Zaev government for not being competent to ensure a successful outcome of Macedonia's Euroatlantic integration, while also criticizing DUI for not sufficiently advancing the ethnic Albanian agenda. In response, Reka has been harshly criticized by SDSM and DUI; has been blamed that works towards “stealing” the Albanian votes from Pendarovski and thereby working in favor of VMRO-DPMNE and Siljanovska. Officials from DUI have argued that Reka in the past has closely worked with them, and labeled him as a traitor to their party and cause.