North Macedonia will face a presidential runoff after no candidate received enough votes for an outright victory in Wednesday’s first round of voting to join the European Union.
The second round of voting on May 8 will be held at the same time as the parliamentary elections. The near-full result of Wednesday’s vote marked a major shift in support for candidates backed by VMRO-DPMNE, the main centre-right opposition coalition.
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With around 92% of votes counted, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova had a strong lead of just under 40%. Incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, who is seeking a second five-year term with the support of the country’s ruling Social Democratic Party, came in second with nearly 20% of the vote, according to the state election commission. Ta.
Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the presidential candidate supported by the opposition conservative party VMRO-DPMNE, steps out of the polling station to cast her vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. People are lining up. They gathered at the polling stations to cast their votes in a peaceful atmosphere, hoping that the next president will bring the country into the European Union. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Pendarovski was followed by Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, a government candidate from the ethnic Albanian minority, with 13.6%. Voter turnout was 49.75%.
To win outright, a candidate needed to win support from more than 50% of registered voters. Therefore, Silyanovska Davkova and Pendarovsky will face each other in the presidential run-off.
There are growing hopes in North Macedonia that the president will oversee the country’s long-awaited accession to the EU.
This small Balkan nation has been orbiting the 27-nation bloc for nearly 20 years, but its efforts have seen little success.
Addressing dozens of VMRO-DPMNE supporters celebrating in front of the party’s headquarters in central Skopje late Wednesday, Siljanovska Davkova asserted her pro-EU position.
“This is the beginning of a new era. This must be a new course. It should be called the European Course,” she said. “Let us prove that we have always (belonged to) Europe.”
Mr. Pendarovsky expressed disappointment with the result. But he said he hoped to do even better in the second round, including by supporting ethnic Albanians, who make up about a quarter of the population.
Seven candidates ran for mainly ceremonial positions, and the short campaign focused on EU membership, the rule of law, fighting corruption and poverty reduction.
Election Commission Chairman Alexander Dashtevsky said early Wednesday that voting was proceeding smoothly and that there were only minor technical problems with biometric devices at some polling stations, which were quickly resolved. Stated.
Silyanovska Davkova, 70, and Pendarovsky, 61, agree that their country belongs to the EU. However, opinions are divided over how to respond to neighboring Bulgaria’s insistence that Skopje recognize the Bulgarian minority in its constitution. EU member Bulgaria said it would otherwise block North Macedonia’s application to join the bloc.
North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005, but accession negotiations only began in 2022 and the process is expected to take several years.
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Voter Stavre Temerkovskiy said he had high hopes that North Macedonia would soon become a full-fledged EU member state.
“I am hopeful that the civil movement will prevail and that we can become part of all these pro-Western regimes and begin the process of national recovery that we have been waiting for for almost 30 years,” he said. “Many generations are exhausted.”
