First Round of North Macedonia Presidential Vote Ends in Draw

Presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski. Photo: EPA/EFE GEORGI LICOVSKI

The top two candidates in North Macedonia presidential polls, Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska, are both celebrating after the first round of voting that ended with a practical draw.

Preliminary results from Sunday's first round of presidential elections in North Macedonia suggest that Stevo Pendarovski, the candidate supported by the country's ruling parties, is just slightly leading the count, ahead of his main rival, Gordana Siljanovska, who is backed by the right-wing opposition VMRO DPMNE party.

Pendarovski won 307,562 votes or 42,62 per cent and Siljanovska won 307,404 votes or 42,60 per cent, the preliminary unofficial results of the State Electoral Commission show out of 96 per cent of votes that have been counted.

The turnout was just over 41 per cent, the lowest at any presidential poll since the country gained independence in 1991.

The bloc centred around the main ruling Social Democrats at a press conference on Sunday night declared victory on behalf of their candidate, Pendarovski.

"Our candidate has made a convincing lead, which means that he is headed for a certain victory in the second round of voting", the Social Democrats secretary general Aleksandar Kiracovski told a press conference.

The opposition VMRO DPMNE at a press conference held on the same evening sounded equally optimistic.

"Results show that you can not go against the will of the people… The [electoral] results are heralding a new political spring in the country", said Igor Janushev, VMRO DPMNE's secretary general.

The third presidential candidate, Blerim Reka, who was supported by two small ethnic Albanian parties, is far behind with 75,163 votes...