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Wh y We Lo s t – Th e M a c e don i a n C a s e
turned into a lifestyle magazine, telling stories about animal life, music or similar themes.
The purchase of a local TV station, which broadcast in the Skopje area, did not work. It
never functioned as an information station, and after a couple of years it was sold to a per-
son who had no connection to the party. There was also a radio station that was supposed
to spread a pro-VMRO message, but only managed to broadcast Macedonian patriotic
songs.
The party was more and more under attack from the media, connecting it with the party
firms which were supposed to make the finances of the party sustainable, but were buy-
ing real estate, shops and factories. The constitutional court ruled against all of these party
companies, and the firms had to be dismantled, and the party property sold. VMRO indeed
dismissed the firms, but the real estate and other properties were transferred into the per-
sonal property of the closest associates of Prime Minister Georgievski. Party officials never
explained where the money for these transactions went. The intention of building a financial
base for a time of opposition was a critical mistake, and many close associates of Georgievski
became wealthy real estate and business owners, obviously with help from the prime minis-
ter himself. This mistake increased the negative perceptions of the government.
In autumn 2000, municipal elections were held for the second time and partial re-runs
were necessary. These were especially important elections, as they were the first to fol-
low the highly-contested presidential elections of 1999, where VMRO and PDSH showed
good partnership. Both the election campaign and the elections themselves were marred
by violent incidents, notably between sympathizers of the two ethnic Albanian parties. In
the immediate wake of the elections, the SDSM announced plans to form a new parlia-
mentary majority for a vote of no-confidence in the Georgievski government and to call
for early parliamentary elections.
According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, these elections
fell short of international standards. Results in most of the municipalities were decided in
the second round of voting on 24 September, during which runoffs were held in 54 dis-
tricts, while the first round of voting had to be repeated in 27 districts. Both the “For the
Good of Everyone” coalition formed by the VMRO and DA and the opposition coalition
“For Macedonia Together” (based on an alliance of SDSM, the Liberal Democratic Party
and other smaller formations) initially claimed victory. The two ethnic Albanian parties
ran independently in most municipalities, although both concluded alliances with smaller
parties in some districts. There was no central tabulation or announcement of results by
the State Election Commission, which led to confusion over the outcome. Final results
indicated that the opposition coalition received the largest share of votes in the first round,
while the governing parties won in most municipalities in the second round. Overall, the
VMRO/DA coalition won around half of the mayoral positions, while the opposition won
most big cities, including the capital, Skopje.
In the municipalities with Albanian majorities, PDSH emerged as the clear winner. These
elections were the most violent in the history of independent Macedonia. A member of
the election committee in Kondovo, close to Skopje, was killed, and many people were
wounded in Ohrid and Kocani.
Serious disagreements between VMRO-DPMNE and DA emerged. The main conflict
was about the logistical support that VMRO was giving NATO during the Kosovo crisis,
