Bulgaria's nationalist political party VMRO-BND welcomed Monday in a press announcement the victory of the Macedonian party with the same name, VMRO-DPMNE, in Sunday's early parliamentary elections.

"The citizens of Macedonia chose the European path for the development of their country", the VMRO-BND statement says.

The Bulgarian nationalists go on to stress that for the first time in Macedonia's eighteen-year history one party won absolute majority in Parliament, which was a prerequisite for the carrying out of consistent policies towards European changes in the society.

VMRO-BND also sets out the many challenges before the Macedonian party of the same name, including final and irreversible de-communization of society, and the rejection of hate language against the country's neighbors including Bulgaria, as well as the protection of the political rights of the Bulgarian community in Macedonia.

According to Bulgarian nationalists, the success of these steps would be an important test before the PM Nikola Gruevski and his VMRO-DPMNE party on their way to NATO and EU accession.

The two parties in Bulgaria and Macedonia named VMRO are both considered successors of the VMRO (IMRO) - the Internal Macedonian Liberation Organization from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, fighting to liberate the Macedonian Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire, and potentially unify Macedonia with Bulgaria.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!