SKOPJE, North Macedonia — Voters head to the first round of presidential elections in North Macedonia this week. It will be his seventh such vote since the small landlocked Balkan country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
Seven candidates are vying for largely ceremonial positions in Wednesday's vote. For an outright victory, he would need at least 50% of the country's 1.8 million registered voters, making it almost certain that the race would proceed to a second round of voting on May 8, along with parliamentary elections. Voter turnout in the second round must be at least 40% for the results to be valid.
The short campaign period has focused on North Macedonia's progress towards joining the European Union, the rule of law, fighting corruption, fighting poverty and tackling the country's economic downturn.
According to opinion polls, the two front-runners are incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, 61, who is seeking a five-year re-election with support from the ruling Social Democratic Party, and Gordana Syrzhanovska, who is supported by centrists. -Mr. Davkova (70). The main right-wing opposition party VMRO-DPMNE coalition. This is Silyanovska Davkova's second bid for the presidency, having lost to Pendarovsky in 2019.
The two sides have different approaches to the issue of EU membership, which is North Macedonia's biggest issue. The country has been a candidate to join the European Union since 2005, but has long been blocked by neighboring Greece over a dispute over its name.
The issue was resolved in 2018, but Bulgaria has since continued to block North Macedonia's EU bid over disputes over language and cultural heritage. Sofia has said it will only lift its veto on EU membership if Skopje recognizes the Bulgarian minority in its constitution.
EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and fellow candidate Albania are expected to begin in 2022, with the process expected to take several years.
Mr. Pendarovsky has called for the constitution to be amended to include the Bulgarian minority, but Ms. Siljanovska Davkova has argued that negotiations with the EU should be carried out under a new framework, raising the issue of constitutional reform. He continues to remain non-committed publicly.
Pendarovskiy said that if given a second term, he would “dedicate himself to building a new politics of realism on the path to the EU.”
Silyanovska Davkova agrees that her country is part of the EU, but advocates deep reform. “Apart from reforming systems and minds, we also need a proactive approach with vision, leadership and expertise in the process itself,” she said while announcing the programme.
Corruption is another big issue that voters are concerned about.
“Corruption is endemic in this country, affecting every sector and every organization. Only by exposing the corrupt actors can we begin to help this country address these problems.” said Angela Aggeler, the US ambassador to Skopje, last December. She announced an expansion of the US list of corruption suspects in North Macedonia.
One of the presidential candidates, Stefcho Yakimovski, the mayor of the capital Karpos, is included in the list of persons designated by the US State Department as being involved in corruption and is therefore ineligible to enter the US.
Yakimovskiy has not been charged with any crime in North Macedonia, and the state election commission said the State Department's nomination does not affect his eligibility to run.
Pendarovskiy and Siljanovska have emphasized the fight against corruption in their pre-election campaigns.
“The judiciary is far from independent and judicial reform is partisan,” Silyanovsa said. “Power is being abused for corruption, theft, and private enrichment, with no accountability, investigation, or punishment except for a few at the bottom. Public procurement is a cancer.”
Pendarovsky said fighting crime is a top priority.
“I think the power of organized crime was underestimated, and I regret that we did not have enough courage and perseverance in the fight against organized crime and corruption,” he said.
The president has no power to influence executive decisions, but he can recommend judges to the country's Constitutional Court and Supreme Court. However, parliament has the final say on the selection of judges.
Other presidential candidates include law professor Biljana Vankovska, who is running from the left-wing party Levica, and Maxim Dimitrievskiy, the mayor of the northern town of Kumanovo.
Two members of the country's ethnic Albanian minority are also running. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, is from the Albanian Democratic Union, which is part of the ruling coalition, and Arben Tarabari is from the opposition Albanian Party.
