Angel Kurtelov, 89 years old, heir of the Miladinov brothers, votes in Ohrid

Atanas Velichkov from Skopje: I really hope that we will vote again in 4 years

published on 10/27/24 11:56 PM

Angel Kurtelov

Photo: BGNES

Election day in the Macedonian capital Skopje was normal, with no queues at polling stations. Around 50 people had voted by midday, and the number was expected to exceed 100 by the time the polls closed. Atanas Velichkov, editor-in-chief of the Tribuna website, told Radio Bulgaria from North Macedonia that the turnout was almost the same as in the June vote.

"I think we are in the same normal range as in previous elections. You should know that people are tired of going to elections so often. Therefore, if you don't mind me saying so, I would like to express my great hope that Bulgaria will finally have a stable government, a stable parliament and that it will pursue its goals, as they say, in relation to the main priorities of the country," the journalist said.

Our compatriots in North Macedonia have the opportunity to vote in 7 locations. It turns out that the oldest Bulgarian to vote there is 89-year-old Angel Kurtelov from Ohrid, one of the descendants of the Miladinov brothers. (Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov were Bulgarian poets, folklorists, and activists of the Bulgarian national movement in Ottoman Macedonia. They are best known for their collection of folk songs called Bulgarian Folk Songs, considered a milestone in Bulgarian literature - ed.)

"I think he is the oldest voter. May he be with us for many years to come. I think the most important thing is to take him as an example for everyone. If an 89-year-old man can be responsible enough to exercise his right to vote, maybe younger people can too. It is easier now to go mushrooming or fishing or travelling, but the responsibility is still with us. We are the ones who decide in the end, no matter how much propaganda there is that nothing depends on the citizens," Atanas Velichkov urged.

Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, since he took office in Skopje, has often claimed that the main focus of the election campaign in Bulgaria was the position of the parties on the Macedonian issue, through which they were trying to cover up the issue of corruption in our country.

So we asked our colleague from Skopje: to what extent are Macedonians informed that this is, to put it mildly, a misrepresentation?

"They tried, he and his deputy Aleksandar Nikoloski - the Minister of Transport and Communications - to involve North Macedonia in Bulgaria's election campaign. They know that there is a consensus in Bulgaria on this issue. Nikoloski knows very well that the claims that he will negotiate as soon as a stable government is in power in Bulgaria are mere fabrications. As all the important figures in the Bulgarian political elite have said, negotiations ended in 2022. Now we need dialogue. What was to be negotiated has already been negotiated. It is outlined in the French proposal, which is a European proposal. It is neither a Bulgarian diktat nor a Bulgarian ultimatum.

I think that people who follow politics here and who are more than vaguely familiar with how Brussels works, how the accession system in general works, how negotiations with the EU work, know very well that Mickoski is buying time. The time he needs is until next year's local elections. No matter who comes to power in the Republic of Bulgaria, the plans that Mickoski has in mind cannot be realised," the editor-in-chief of the Tribuna website believes.

Asked by Radio Bulgaria when he expected to vote in Bulgaria's next parliamentary elections, Atanas Velichkov was categorical: "I very much hope that we will vote in four years' time.

Photos: BGNES

Translated and posted in English: E. Radkova

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