SDSM

A dispute over the second-round presidential run-off and snap parliamentary elections erupted as polls closed at 7pm local time, with the authorities praising the vote as democratic while the opposition Social Democrats claimed the elections were fraudulent, setting the scene for fresh political discord in the country.

Polling stations will be open in Macedonia until 7pm Sunday.

This is the eighth general election since Macedonia became independent in the 1990s and the third early parliamentary election in a row. It is also the fifth presidential election since independence.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic party, SDSM, said it may not recognize the results of the presidential and general elections on April 27, which it is widely expected to lose.

The ruling VMRO DPMNE party said the Social Democrats were looking for an excuse for what seemed an inevitable defeat.

Days before Sunday’s early general and presidential elections in Macedonia, the opposition Social Democratic Party, the SDSM, has presented documents from the land registry that it says show the ruling party recently purchased over 20 apartments, office spaces and building lots worth some €1.6 million.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic Party, the SDSM, has filed charges against Prime Minister Gruevski on three accounts of taking bribes and tax evasion.

“By law, the minimum penalty for tax evasion alone is a minimum of four years in jail,” the head of the SDSM, Zoran Zaev, told a press conference.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, has accused Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of selling Makedonska Banka AD to a controversial Serbian businessman, Jovica Stefanovic, known as “Gazda Nini” ["Boss Nini"] for a bribe.

The head of Macedonia's main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, Zoran Zaev, said his party would soon provide evidence of election fraud on the part of the government of Nikola Gruevski whose VMRO DPMNE party is endorsing Ivanov’s candidacy for a second term.

Macedonians are going to the polls on Sunday in the fifth presidential elections for the country.

The candidate of the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party, incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov, launches his campaign with a rally in the town of Ohrid, the party’s traditional election launch venue.

Ivanov, who is competing for a secound five-year term in office, is running under the election slogan “The State Above All”, positioning himself as a proven defender of the country's interests.

The Macedonian Police Minister, Gordana Jankuloska, on Wednesday insisted her ministry was "clean" and was playing no role in management of the electoral roll.

Jankuloska’s statement came a day after the main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, as well as the junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, disputed the accuracy of the electoral roll.