Newcomers Threaten Old Albanian Parties in Macedonia

A recent opinion poll conducted in Macedonia suggests that the two old-established ethnic Albanian parties could face a serious challenge in the December 11 general elections.

"Newly formed Albanian non-parliamentary parties, divided into two blocs, have gained much support because what they offer differs from what the DUI [the Democratic Union for Integration] and DPA [the Democratic Party of Albanians] have been offering for years," political analyst Xhelal Neziri told BIRN.

The opinion poll, published by the Institute for Policy Research and Good Governance, a think tank, on Sunday, showed that the DUI, which has held power in coalition governments since 2008, is still the most popular party on the Albanian political scene with the support of 13.4 per cent of voters.

However, a newly formed anti-establishment party, Besa, is running very close to the DUI with the support of 10.2 per cent of the voters.
 
Another newly formed party, DPA - Movement for Reforms, is also breathing down the neck of the old DPA, with a difference of only 1.3 per cent in the polls.
 
Neziri said that although opinion polls in Macedonia are not always relevant and do not always predict elections results, because they are often used for propaganda purposes, surprises could happen.

"Ethnic Albanians had a low turnout in previous elections because of their dissatisfaction with the two parties [the DUI and DPA]," Neziri said.

Macedonia's main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, SDSM, is also seriously courting ethnic Albanian voters in the next elections, which is a novelty. Political parties in Macedonia are traditionally divided sharply into ethnic camps.

"The offers of the non-parliamentary parties and of the...