Afrim Gashi: No ethnic divisions needed in Brvenica mayoral runoff
Gashi says the second round on October 25, 2026 should be decided by political programmes, not ethnic lines.
Afrim Gashi, Speaker of the Assembly, said ethnic divisions should not shape the second round of the mayoral vote in Brvenica and that the winner should be the candidate with the stronger political programme.
The municipality of Brvenica is electing a mayor on Sunday, October 25, 2026, in an extraordinary ballot called after the sudden death of the town’s previous mayor, Jovica Ilievski.
Who advanced to the runoff
In the first round, held on October 18, 2026, two candidates reached the runoff: Stojancho Radicheski, running on a coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE, and Arkin Jahij, running on a coalition led by DUI.
Radicheski finished the first round with roughly 700 more votes than Jahij, but the outcome now hinges on how voters who supported Jakup Huseini of Vredi and Jovica Radeski of SDSM will cast their ballots in the second round.
Gashi urged voters and political actors to avoid framing the contest along ethnic lines and to focus on programmes and local issues when choosing Brvenica’s next mayor.
Photo: press material from the event
