North Macedonia votes for president in test before parliamentary poll

Polls closed in North Macedonia on Wednesday in a presidential election seen as a litmus test for a parliamentary vote next month in which a nationalist opposition is seeking to unseat the ruling centre-left Social Democrats. Wednesday's vote pits President Stevo Pendarovski, a candidate of the pro-European Social Democrats, against Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE.

Polls closed in North Macedonia on Wednesday in a presidential election seen as a litmus test for a parliamentary vote next month in which a nationalist opposition is seeking to unseat the ruling centre-left Social Democrats.

Wednesday's vote pits President Stevo Pendarovski, a candidate of the pro-European Social Democrats, against Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE. Turnout by 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) was 42.35%, according to the election commission app. Election observers from local rights watchdogs reported minor irregularities such as activists suggesting to voters for whom they should cast their ballots.

VMRO-DPMNE has gained ground in recent years over public anger at the slow pace of the Balkan country's accession to the European Union. While the presidency is largely a ceremonial position, the opposition hopes to gain momentum for the more important parliamentary vote on May 8. Siljanovska-Davkova is expected to take 19.2% of the vote and Pendarovski 9.7%, according to polls published by North Macedonia's state TV before the vote. Bujar Osmani, a candidate for the ethnic Albanian DUI party, is forecast to come third with 6.6%.

Results are due late on Wednesday. If neither candidate gets a majority in the first round, a run-off vote will be held on May 8. "The party that wins in the first round will find it easier to mobilise voters in the second round and in the parliamentary vote," political analyst Petar Arsovski said.

North Macedonia's candidacy to join the EU was met with optimism in 2005, but 19 years on, it has made little progress, in part because of opposition from EU members Greece and Bulgaria. "It (the election) is particularly important for the entire state of (North) Macedonia, as the state which is negotiating with the EU must not allow itself a bad election process," Pendarovski said after voting in Skopje.

After casting her ballot, Siljanovska-Davkova said national identity and cultural issues should be excluded from EU membership talks. "Otherwise, we (the Western Balkan states) will be exotic countries that will wait, wait, wait, and I'm afraid they (EU) won't welcome us," she said.

A 2017 agreement to change the country's name from Macedonia to North Macedonia ended the dispute with Greece, but Bulgaria lodged a veto in 2020 over history and language issues, which many North Macedonians say attacks their national identity. In 2001 NATO pulled North Macedonia from the brink of civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency and promised faster integration into the EU and NATO. It joined NATO in 2020.