Radmila Sekerinska is new leader of Macedonia's largest opposition party

10/11/2006

The new leader of Macedonia's Social Democrats says she wants to revamp the party's image.

By Marina Stojanovska for Southeast European Times in Skopje – 10/11/06

Radmila Sekeriska (centre) was elected the new SDSM leader. [Tomislav Georgiev]

Radmila Sekerinska, the former deputy prime minister in charge of European integration, is the new leader of the largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM). She won 465 out of 500 votes at an early party congress on November 5th.

"We have to give the SDSM back its old image," she said early in the morning following the election. "We have to work hard to restore confidence, first among our members and followers, and then among the citizens."

Sekerinska is the third leader of the SDSM after Branko Crvenkovski and Vlado Buckovski and the first woman to head a major political party in Macedonia.

In her view, it's time for the SDSM to turn a new page and return to social democracy. "We should stop talking about offices. What we should do in the next period is consolidate the party and start developing the social democratic model of Macedonia," she said.

Sekerinska, who holds a degree in electrical engineeirng from Skopje University, has been a member of the SDSM's central board since 1993 and a member of the party presidency since 1995. In 1999 she became vice president of the central board as well as international party secretary.

Between 1995 and 1999, Sekerinska was the leader of the Young Social Democrats. Following that, between 1996 and 1998 she was on the City of Skopje Council. She served as a member of parliament between 1998 and 2002, becoming deputy prime minister after the SDSM won the 2002 parliamentary elections. She speaks English and French.

Former SDSM leader Vlado Buckovski says he will stay with the party. "As a democrat, I will respect the will of the majority, although I will try to ensure that this leadership and majority in the SDSM respect our opinion as minority during their term."

New members of the party's central board were also elected at the congress, with 96 nominees competing for 70 positions. Goran Mincev was voted in as party secretary general, defeating his rival, Ljupco Jordanovski, by 70 votes. Jordanovski is known as the former Speaker of the Parliament and Ambassador to the United States.

The new vice presidents are current MPs Jani Makraduli and Igor Ivanovski, and Strumica Municipality Mayor Zoran Zaev.