North Macedonia’s opposition candidate takes lead in first round of presidential election
Thewesternbalkans
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, nominated by the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, and Stevo Pendarovski, supported by the ruling Social Democrats, are the two candidates for president of North Macedonia who are going to the second round of the elections on May 8.
Siljanovska-Davkova, took 40.08 % of the vote (362 682 votes) in the first round of presidential elections, far ahead of the incumbent, Pendarovski, who got 19.93% (180 306 votes).
The results came after more than 99% of the votes were counted. Since no candidate won more than 50%the two frontrunners will compete in a run-off on May 8, which will take place in parallel with a higher-stakes general election.
Bujar Osmani, nominated by the European Front coalition led by the largest Albanian party, Democratic Union for Integration (DSI), won 13.36% and is ahead of by some 35 000 votes of Arben Taravari, nominated by the Albanian opposition parties, who won 9.21%.
ZNAM candidate Maksim Dimitrievski received 9.26% of the votes, Biljana Vankovska, endorsed by The Left, received 4.55%, while the mayor of Skopje’s Karposh municipality, Stevco Jakimovski, won just 0.9%.
Out of 1 814 317 registered voters (including a large diaspora), 828 402 cast ballots, meaning that the turnout in the first round was 48.38%.
Comment: The result of the North Macedonia’s presidential election is not surprising, since the last polls gave Siljanovska-Davkova a lead, but what is surprising is the huge margin of more than 180 000 votes with which she leads.
Pendarovski’s poor result can be explained by the citizens’ vote against the policies of the ruling SDSM, rather than his personal failure.
The main reason for this result is that during all the campaign the parties of the ruling SDSM- DSI coalition putting everything on one map – the so-called French proposal and constitutional amendments, and neglecting all other important issues, especially the fight against crime and corruption, which are noted as a major problem not only by citizens in North Macedonia but also in many international reports.
