Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia

The Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia (Macedonian: Партија на обединети пензионери и граѓани на Македонија – ПОПГМ, Partiјa na Obyedinyeti Pyenzionyeri i Guraѓani na Makyedoniјa – POPGM) is a political party in North Macedonia. In the 2020 elections, the party won one seat as part of the SDSM-led coalition.

Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia

Партија на обединети пензионери и граѓани на Македонија
LeaderIlija Nikolovski
Vice PresidentsMena Brzova
Enver Iseni[1]
FoundedMarch 12, 2013 (2013-03-12)[2]
IdeologyPensioners' interests[3]
Pro-Europeanism[3]
Pro-NATO[3]
Agrarianism[3]
Political positionCentre
National affiliationWe Can
ColoursRed and purple
SloganWisdom, Youth and Unity
Assembly
1 / 120
Mayors
0 / 81
Website
www.obedinetipenzioneri.mk
(Archive)

History

The party was founded on 12 March 2013, with Boris Stojanoski as the chair and 250 others present.[2] It was founded after comments made by then-Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski surrounding pensions, which the party claimed meant that "pensions in the Republic of Macedonia would be the lowest in the region compared to the average paid salary in the country".[4] For the 2016 election, the party formed an electoral alliance with the SDSM and 3 other parties. However, it failed to win any seats.[5] In the We Can coalition in 2020, led again by the SDSM, the party's leader, Ilija Nikolovski, was elected.[6]

Ideology

The main concern for the party is the rights of pensioners. The party's election programme calls for "amendments to the Law on Pension Disability Insurance" and calls pensions a "legal, inalienable and permanent personal right".[3] It states that "NATO and EU membership is the best long-term framework for guaranteeing the preservation of national interests".[3] The programme also proposes a self-sufficient nation with regards to food, and an increased role of agriculture in the Macedonian economy.[3]

In its 2016 election manifesto, POPGM called for a number of electoral reforms, such as the reduction of MPs in the Assembly of North Macedonia from 123 to 90 and limiting the Prime Minister to 2 terms.[7] In addition, it called for the complete secularisation of the government, judicial reform, and reducing emigration from North Macedonia.[7]

References
  1. "Vice Presidents". Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "INFORMATION from the Constituent Assembly held of the party "Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia"". Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ""PROGRAM of the party "Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia - POPGM"". Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. "News". Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2020.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "United pensioners in a pre-election coalition with SDSM and the opposition bloc". Meta.mk. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. "Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia - Members of Parliament". ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  7. "THE PARTY OF UNITED PENSIONERS AND CITIZENS OF MACEDONIA ANNOUNCED THE ELECTION PROGRAM". ALPOJO. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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