North Macedonia’s main ethnic Albanian ruling bloc, VLEN, is set to hold a major public rally Thursday evening in Skanderbeg Square, Skopje, to launch its central election headquarters. The event, branded with the symbolic slogan “See you where it all began!”, comes as the coalition faces internal fractures and an intensified political battle for local power.
The gathering takes place amid a crisis triggered by the departure of Arben Taravari, a prominent figure from the Alliance for Albanians (ASH), who is now expected to join the opposition Democratic Union for Integration (DUI)-led “European Front.”
Despite the split, Deputy Prime Minister and ASH member Arben Fetai claims that over 80% of the party’s structure remains loyal to VLEN. “The Alliance for Albanians doesn’t belong to Sela or Taravari. The vast majority are still with us,” he told media, dismissing Taravari’s faction as minor and unsustainable.
Electoral Map Sparks Tense Negotiations
Talks are reportedly underway to divide municipalities among the newly aligned “European Front” partners. Unofficial sources suggest DUI’s Ali Ahmeti has held separate meetings with both Ziadin Sela and Arben Taravari, leaders of rival ASH factions.
According to Albanian-language media, DUI seeks candidates in Tetovo, Čair, and Kičevo; Taravari’s faction in Gostivar, Vrapčište, and Saraj; and Sela’s camp in Struga and Haraçinë. However, no final agreement has been reached, and negotiations are expected to continue over the weekend for other key municipalities including Bogovinje, Tearce, Likovë, Želino, Bërvenica, Studeničani, Debar, and Plasnica.
Insiders say no party is willing to back down from their demands, complicating compromise efforts. Some DUI local officials are reportedly unhappy at the prospect of losing municipalities to former rivals.
Two Major Albanian Blocs Set for Showdown
VLEN leader Izet Mexhiti stated that Taravari is “de facto” now part of the DUI-led bloc and will compete under the European Front. “They’re already preparing for elections together,” he said, asserting that the local elections will come down to two major Albanian blocs: VLEN and the European Front—a development he welcomed as healthy for democracy.
Neither camp has unveiled mayoral candidates yet. VLEN has hired polling agencies to help select the most favorable contenders, while DUI faces the delicate challenge of maintaining unity within its expanded alliance, especially as it balances the ambitions of both ASH factions.
Even if Sela and Taravari formalize their alliance, it remains unclear whether their party structures can coordinate effectively during the campaign.
Race for Legitimacy Amid Accusations of Nepotism
VLEN aims to consolidate power in municipalities it already governs—particularly Tetovo and Čair—and outpace DUI in the vote count to gain legitimacy, which the ruling party has questioned since last year’s parliamentary elections.
Tensions are mounting between the blocs. Taravari has accused his former allies of abandoning European values, failing to implement fair ethnic representation laws, neglecting fiscal decentralization, and hiring disproportionately few Albanians—claiming only 5% of recent public sector hires are ethnic Albanians.
DUI addressed accusations to the ruling VLEN by saying the spirit of the Ohrid Framework Agreement “cannot be fulfilled with Albanians as mere decoration in state institutions.”
VLEN’s Mexhiti countered by highlighting the coalition’s hiring record. “Let them name the best year for employment in the last two decades under their leadership—we’ll compare it to what VLEN achieved in just one,” he said, claiming 800 Albanians were promoted in the public sector in the past year alone.
North Macedonia is preparing for local elections amid political turbulence, particularly within the ethnic Albanian bloc. The ruling VLEN coalition, which includes the Alliance for Albanians and other reformist groups, came to power after last year’s parliamentary elections, ending over two decades of dominance by the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI). Now in opposition, DUI is seeking to regain influence by forming the European Front — a new alliance that includes breakaway factions from VLEN, notably led by Arben Taravari. The Albanian political camp is increasingly polarized, with rivalries intensifying over control of key municipalities, ethnic representation in state institutions, and the direction of the country’s European integration path.