Goran Gerasimovski elected SDSM vice‑president, urges party unity
The Centar mayor accepted the post with a sense of responsibility and urged members to rebuild trust through dialogue.
Goran Gerasimovski, mayor of the Centar Municipality, was elected vice‑president of SDSM at a session of the party's Central Board and used his first address in the new role to call for unity, mutual trust and joint work among party members.
Gerasimovski said differences of opinion must not turn into divisions but should instead strengthen the party; he added that rebuilding citizens’ trust requires more internal dialogue and cooperation.
Calls for internal consolidation amid platform pressure
“We don't have to always think the same. We don't have to always agree. But we must know what unites us. Those are our principles, the defense of social democracy and the fight for a dignified life for citizens,” Gerasimovski said, thanking party leader Venko Filipche and colleagues for their confidence and stressing he accepts the post with a strong sense of responsibility.
“There is no room for divisions. There is no room for vanities. There is no room to stand aside and wait for someone else to finish the work. Everyone is important. Everyone is needed. The strength of SDSM has never been in one person. The strength of SDSM has been in the people,” he added, promising to be open to ideas and criticism that could improve the party.
Gerasimovski concluded his address with a plea to rally the party: “Let us unite. Let us straighten up. And show that SDSM has the strength to move forward again.”
The appeal for unity came after representatives of the platform “Conversations for the Future at 12:05” — former SDSM officials Igor Ivanovski, Nikola Kurkchiev, Andrej Petrov, Emilijan Stankovic, Gordan Georgiev and current MP and former minister Slavjanka Petrovska — announced they will present, starting next week, a plan to consolidate the largest opposition party and to build a united opposition front, with one of the conditions being Filipche's withdrawal from the party leadership. They said that if Filipche does not accept the proposal, other solutions will follow.
The platform said a new round of talks titled “35 years later” will take place on Saturday and that it will follow with an intensive campaign focused on reorganizing SDSM and uniting a currently fragmented opposition. Earlier the same day, SDSM leader Venko Filipche, answering reporters at a press conference in the Assembly, said the government's strategy is to fragment the opposition so it can govern, urged those members to rejoin the party and claimed that evidence they had been “bought” is the tender Nikola Kurkchiev received from a state company. He also referenced the ZNAM initiative of Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski, saying it was formed and later joined the Government.
Photo: press material from the event
