Afrim Gashi: Let the best candidate win in Brvenica, not ethnic voting
Assembly speaker told reporters local services must not be framed as ethnic issues and called for the best candidate to win on 1 November.
Speaker of the Assembly, Afrim Gashi, called on voters to judge mayoral candidates in Brvenica by competence and results rather than ethnic background ahead of the municipality’s runoff election on 1 November.
Gashi urges pragmatic voting ahead of Brvenica runoff
Addressing reporters before the second round, Gashi said local government decisions should be evaluated on practical grounds — service delivery, infrastructure and program delivery — not ethnicity. He said these issues “have no ethnic character” and should not be reduced to inter‑ethnic disputes.
Gashi was explicit about the kinds of municipal tasks he referred to: “Sewerage, water supply, paving streets, garbage collection, etc.” He warned that reducing every local issue to ethnicity harms the ability of elected officials to serve all residents equally.
The runoff in Brvenica will pit Stojancho Radichevski of VMRO‑DPMNE against Arkin Jahiji, who stands for the coalition led by the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI). In the first round Radichevski received 2,945 votes, while Jahiji won 2,152 — the two highest totals that sent them to the second round.
Gashi said the most important criterion on election day should be which candidate will implement their program and serve all citizens, regardless of ethnic belonging.
Photo: Arhiva
