Gordana Siljanovska Davkova

Stevo Pendarovski, the presidential candidate backed by North Macedonia's center-left government, won the presidency Sunday in a runoff election with a conservative rival.

Stevo Pendarovski, the candidate of North Macedonia's ruling Social Democrat Union, is leading his conservative rival, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova in partial returns, the country's State Election Commission reports on their web site.

With almost 80 percent of the polling stations reporting, Pendarovski is getting 53.2 percent of the vote to Siljanovska's 43.2 percent.

North Macedonia held a competitive runoff election Sunday to choose a new president, a vote seen as a test of the center-left government's pro-West policies despite the largely ceremonial duties of the country's head of state.

Polls have opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round.

More than 3,400 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local Sunday.

Voters in newly renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday in tightly contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role.
Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a deeply polarized country.

A presidential election in North Macedonia that gave voters another chance to express an opinion on their country's new name will go to a runoff after turnout in the first round of voting Sunday was too low for a candidate to win outright, election officials said.

Polls opened early Sunday in North Macedonia for a presidential election seen as a key test for the government following the country's changing its name to end a decades-old dispute with neighboring Greece over the use of the term "Macedonia".

More than 3,400 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1700GMT).

Election authorities in North Macedonia say three people, including a law professor who is the country's first female candidate, will run for president of the newly renamed country in April 21 elections.