Arkin Jahij (DUI) wins Brvenica — diaspora voters flew in to decide the race
Jahij beat VMRO‑DPMNE by 258 votes; emigrant association in Switzerland posted plane photos and wished success to the new mayor.
Arkin Jahij, the DUI candidate, won the mayoral race in the Municipality of Brvenica by 258 votes — a margin of just under three percent — overturning years of VMRO-DPMNE control. Jahij received 4,442 votes to VMRO‑DPMNE candidate Stojancho Radichevski's 4,184, according to the official count.
Turnout, diaspora and a village celebration
The decisive victory was celebrated in the village of Chelopek, where Jahij appeared alongside the leadership of DUI and coalition partners. During the election day Jahij thanked voters and explicitly addressed members of the diaspora who returned to vote.
Jahij told supporters: "Blessed be you." He also said: "I extend special thanks to all those who traveled from afar to be here today and to vote for change."
An association of emigrants from Chelopek in Switzerland posted photographs of an airplane on social media and wrote: "May God repay with good all those who contributed to this victory." The group also wished success to the newly elected mayor.
The defeated side blamed votes from abroad for the loss. "They managed to bring supposedly people from outside who do not live here, live outside the borders of this homeland, yet they voted for the DUI candidate," a representative of the losing camp said.
When asked how the result might affect dynamics inside the governing coalition, VMRO‑DPMNE general secretary Dragan Kovački answered on November 1, 2026: "Well, I couldn't answer that question right now. Analyses must be done, additional assessments made and after that I believe we will come out with concrete information."
Local list Vredi responded to criticism by saying: "No political party controls the votes and cannot claim ownership of them. The votes belong to the citizens, who are free to decide whom to entrust with their support."
Other parties reacted sharply. The Left accused Vredi of working for DUI in Brvenica, while SDSM framed the controversy as an attempt to deflect attention. SDSM president Venko Filipche called the allegations an effort by an "organized criminal group in VMRO" to create a diversion and insisted they would not succeed.
In the second round of the snap local elections in Brvenica, 8,828 of 16,256 registered voters cast ballots — a turnout of 54.31%.
Photo: press material from the event
