Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Early elections - 27 October 2024

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

Author:
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.

Atanas Velichkov
"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


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Heavy snow leaves settlements in Smolyan and Veliko Tarnovo disricts without electricity

12 settlements in Smolyan district are without electricity after the heavy snowfall yesterday. Settlements in the municipalities of Smolyan, Devin and Chepelare have been without electricity since last night due to fallen trees on the power grid...

published on 12/22/24 10:09 AM

Sunny spells, stop of rain and snowfall on Sunday

Sunny weather will prevail on Sunday. There will be more significant cloudiness before noon over the northeastern regions, and after noon in places in southeastern Bulgaria. There will be a moderate westerly-northwesterly wind. Minimum temperatures..

published on 12/21/24 6:15 PM

Industry workers in demand, no applicants for jobs in hospitals and social services

There are nearly 17,600 job vacancies in the country by the end of the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Statistical Institute. This is almost 1,000 fewer than at the end of the second quarter.  The Employment Agency reported that..

published on 12/21/24 5:04 PM