Sharp campaigns launched by political parties to mobilize their base are deepening polarization among citizens ahead of the October 19 local elections, analysts say, as debates over illegal wiretapping, EU integration and national identity overshadow discussions on local issues, RFE in Macedonian language reported.
The ruling and opposition parties have exchanged accusations of corruption, abuse of office, and political manipulation, while personal insults have intensified on social media. In the Albanian political bloc, allegations of misuse of funds have marked the race in Skopje’s Çair municipality, with Deputy Prime Minister Izet Mexhiti accusing former foreign minister Bujar Osmani of maintaining contacts with ex-prime minister Nikola Gruevski in Budapest.
Osmani also faced accusations of misusing €1.8 million from the state budget to refurbish the venue of last year’s OSCE Summit with a company that donated to his party DUI. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the tender followed the law and that oversight bodies found no irregularities.
Meanwhile, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti dismissed claims of separatist ambitions, saying that if Albanians in North Macedonia had wanted partition, “it would have happened in 2001 when we had 15,000 armed fighters.”
Analyst Xhelal Neziri said the dominance of negative campaigning reflects the lack of credible policy offers.
“No matter how hard they try to draft good projects and effective solutions to citizens’ problems, it is difficult to convince voters they will be implemented. Most candidates are career politicians, which now makes it harder to persuade the public they will keep their promises,” Neziri told Radio Free Europe.
He said the absence of trust among voters that politics can resolve long-standing problems or modernize municipalities pushes parties towards black propaganda.
“This type of negative propaganda is driven by the motto: ‘I may be bad, but my opponent is a disaster,’” he added.
Political scientist Blagojce Atanasovski said the approach is part of the country’s “political folklore.” “Citizens themselves are used to this kind of politics, and unfortunately politicians continue to serve it to them,” he said.
Still, Neziri sees space for a more constructive approach. “Even among candidates with political experience there is potential for a positive campaign, constructive propaganda and sharing optimistic energy, because not all of them have broken past promises,” he said.
Atanasovski added that not everything in the campaign is negative, noting some mayoral candidates have presented programs focused on the needs of citizens in their municipalities.
North Macedonia’s local elections will be held on October 19, with a second round scheduled for November 2. These will be the eighth local polls since the country’s independence.