Reka: I'm wondering why Kosovo and Albania are silent about my candidacy, I'm the only Albanian in the race

Just recently, Tuzi Albanians set the example that united ones can win, the same is not happening in Macedonia. This has led Reka to address criticism of the Democratic Union for Integration, which has come up next to the Macedonian LSDM candidate Stevo Pendarovski.

In an interview for The KP, Reka says this is the last moment for North Macedonia to have an Albanian president, while also showing the reasons it has pushed into the presidential race.

The first “The first reason is intellectual and second national. In the intellectual plan, I came to a conclusion that after many years of criticism, interviews, scriptures, Facebook postings for changing the situation, I realized that the situation is not changed with virtual activity, but only with real commitment... The second, national reason, why I decided to run, is exactly challenging, that on the day that I ran, we had two Macedonian candidates, and I considered that a state that has a third of Albania's population, and a third of the Albanian electorate, would be irreverent to this electorate not having an Albanian offer, so that there would be no Albanian candidate. In other words, I wanted to show that Albanians in northern Macedonia should not be just voters, as so far, but should be voting”, Reka says.

Reka says she wants to lead a republican state against the capture of the state, against the privatisation of the state, a state without corruption and nepotism, a state which will lead politicians with clean lines.

Meanwhile, a host of criticism has addressed current governance, while also showing some of the steps it will take if it becomes president.

Thus, one of the first tasks to have put itself as president, Reka says to be the Inquisition of Albanians to public office both in Presidencys and other state institutions.

As far as I know, in the president's cabinet there is only one Albanian employee, and that is really surprising. How can we pretend we are multiethnic society if in the highest state body we have only one Albanian employee. There are many challenges waiting for me at the moment if I take the post of president, but it will have to gradually restore the ignored multiethnicity to this state”, he says.

According to him, after a post-conflict period in northern Macedonia, for nearly 20 years, it is time for an agreement with citizens, not among the ruling elites.

I think that after an almost 20-year period of post-conflict period in Macedonia, which is still governed through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, it is time for a new agreement in this state, for a new political agreement, among its citizens, not among the elites, because elites with their markets have brought the state into this situation we are. We are now in the second decade of the 21st century, and we have to find power, with a new political agreement, that Macedonia can truly transform into a multiethnic state and not as is monoethnic, with official Macedonian and Albanian language, and with adequate representation of all its citizens, to follow access to all state institutions”, he says.

That Albanians in northern Macedonia now and several years are facing their non-registerment in the population census, Professor Reka claims, where he says it is still operating in numbers of 2002.

He recalls how in 2011 there had been an initiative for population registration, where the ruling coalition -- led by Ali Ahmeti and Nikola Gruevski -- even though they spent 9m euros on the state budget -- has interrupted the census, not placing responsibility for the failure.

“Now it's DUI with Ali Ahmeti in power with Zoran Zaev, I hear there will be speculation that there will be a census next year, but that the national affiliation grafa will be removed from the census. I don't know if you understand what games they're playing, at any cost not to show the number of Albanians in the population census. I can understand that in the communist era there were these experiments, but I can't understand that 18 years the ruling DUI was also with VMRO, it's also with the LSDM, then it stopped recording, now it's talking about drafts where national affiliation won't be on the paper”, Reka said.

Situated in front of two Macedonian counter-Candids, the Albanian candidate for president of northern Macedonia is optimistic when asked if there will be DUI voters' votes.

According to him, the state of northern Macedonia itself will be much healthier if the Albanian candidate, not the government candidate, is voted on.

His election to the head of state, Reka sees politics as a balance.

What happened in Tuz was hailed by the DUI and its leader as an example of the national union. The same day DUI said, the Macedonian candidate must be voted in. That is what they exposed themselves. They are for the national political union in Tuz, for the unification of Albanian votes, but are against the unification of the Albanian vote and against the Albanian candidate in the country where they are in government now 18 years. I think that the timing of party dictatorships, the time of party imposing on who to vote should be over. And, we'll see that even DUI membership, besides the militants of this party, will be on the right side and will vote on candidate with number 1. I think that even for Macedonia's democracy it will be very healthy if the government candidate is not voted, as in that case we would have a state party, the dominance of a party in all three branches of power. I count that I will have the votes of Macedonians”, he says.

Reka has also spoken of his promise that he will fight organised crime and corruption, where he has announced that he will do so through his competencies as president - in the judiciary, with the appointment of members of the judicial council and the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court.

The candidate for president has expressed surprise at the silence of Kosovo and Albania's institutions over his candidacy.

The silence of Kosovo and Albania has come to my surprise. Granted, it is quite legitimate that Pristina and Tirana certainly have preferred presidential candidates, perhaps they have a preferred candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, because of coalitions, or friendly government relations, party with official Skopje. And, the truth is, besides Vetevendosje as a party, and Albin Kurti as leader, additional support has not come from the Republic of Kosovo, nor from the Republic of Albania”, says the independent presidential candidate.

Otherwise, the presidential election in northern Macedonia will be held on April 21st, while the independent Albanian candidate will face the race with Gordana Silianovska '% Davkova, VMRO- candidate DPMNE and Stevo Pendarovski of LSDM.