North Macedonia's right-wing candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova on Wednesday claimed overall victory in the first round of the presidential election, the first in a series of votes to decide whether the Balkan country joins the European Union.
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According to the State Election Commission, Siljanovska-Davkova won with almost 40% of the vote, with 90% of the votes counted.
This put him ahead of President Stevo Pendarovskiy of the ruling center-left Social Democratic Party (SDSM), who won nearly 20% of the vote.
The two will meet in the second round final on May 8, but the outlook is bleak for Pendarovskiy.
A parliamentary vote will also be held on the same day.
According to the Election Commission, turnout was over 49%, about 8 percentage points higher than the first round of the 2019 presidential election.
Approximately 1.8 million people, including many in the diaspora, were eligible to vote, and more than 810,000 people voted at 3,480 polling stations across the country.
Siljanovska Davkova, who is supported by the main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, told reporters on Wednesday night: “It is clear that this result is incredibly inspirational for me.”
“All I know is that I will do what I promise, in my own way. This is the beginning of a new era.”
Pendarovski admitted he was surprised by the huge difference.
“We weren't expecting much (the difference), but tomorrow is a new day. We're starting from the beginning,” Pendarovskiy told reporters.
“My mission is to promote the concept in which I believe: a nation that is not isolated but integrated into Europe.”
The election came amid a two-year conflict between the government and opposition groups over how to deal with neighboring Bulgaria blocking its path to EU membership.
Relations with Bulgaria have long been strained by disputes over the two countries' language and history.
Sofia has refused to support Skopje to start accession talks with the EU until North Macedonia recognizes its ethnic Bulgarian minority in its constitution.
Mr. Pendarovsky and the SDSM are prepared to submit amendments, but they lack the numbers to win a parliamentary vote.
The VMRO-DPMNE party claims that constitutional amendments can only be made after North Macedonia joins the EU, but the government says that position is unrealistic.
old rival
Pendarovsky and Siljanovska-Davkova, long-time political rivals, also faced each other in the last presidential election in 2019, leading a field of seven candidates.
Mr Pendarovski and the SDSM have vowed to break through stalled negotiations with the EU and usher constitutional reform through parliament.
Ms Silyanovska-Davkova and VMRO-DPMNE said North Macedonia (which had to change its name from Macedonia in 2018 to resolve another long-running dispute with Greece) will not be forced into the issue. said.
This message seems to have resonated with many people calling for change.
“I hope that this election will result in a complete change of government and that Macedonia's national interests will be protected in the end,” Filip Zdraveski, 38, told AFP after voting in the capital Skopje.
Ana Petruseva, North Macedonia bureau chief for regional investigative news agency BIRN, told AFP that Wednesday's vote was being watched as a barometer for the parliamentary elections.
Petruseva added that the support of the other five candidates could be essential for the runoff.
The five include Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, supported by the ruling coalition partner Albanian Drunk Driving party, which won 13% of votes, and Arben Tarabari, of the opposition Albanian Coalition, who received more than 9% of the vote. It will be done.
DUI has offered its support in the second round, provided that the future president is elected by parliamentarians, in the hope that it will one day lead to an Albanian becoming president.
Albanians make up more than a quarter of the country's population of 1.8 million.
Pendarovsky and Siljanovska-Davkova dismissed the idea, saying it would be more democratic to elect the head of state by direct vote.
(AFP)
