Voters choosing new president in EU hopeful North Macedonia

Belgrade, Apr. 24, (dpa/GNA) – Presidential voting in North Macedonia opened on Wednesday for the nearly 1.8 million citizens eligible to cast a vote.

According to the latest polls, incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, who comes from the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), is clearly behind Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE.

However, as neither candidate is likely to receive more than 50% of the vote and there are also five other hopefuls in the race, the election is likely to go to a run-off on May 8. A parliamentary election is also due to take place on that day, too.

Polling stations opened at 7 am (0500 GMT) and will close at 7 pm. The president in North Macedonia primarily has protocol powers and the office is representative in nature.

The EU opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia in July 2022. Under pressure from EU member Bulgaria, the small Balkan country must mention the Bulgarian minority in the preamble to its constitution so that more substantial accession talks can begin.

However, due to opposition from the VMRO-DPMNE, a two-thirds majority has not yet been found in parliament to amend the constitution accordingly.

Two ethnic Albanian politicians are also running on Wednesday for the presidency: Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, from the co-governing Albanian party DUI, and Arben Taravari, the candidate of an alliance of opposition Albanian parties. Ethnic Albanians make up around 25% of the population of North Macedonia.

The pro-European and pro-Western SDSM has been in power in Macedonia since 2017, which was renamed North Macedonia in 2019.

The country joined NATO in 2020 after the government of former prime minister Zoran Zaev settled a name dispute with Greece.

Athens had insisted on the change because a region in northern Greece is named Macedonia. GNA