Date of Macedonian snap election set for April 27

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonia has formally set April 27 as the date of the country's early parliamentary election, which was forced after government coalition partners failed to agree on a presidential candidate.

The decision was signed Thursday by parliament speaker Trajko Veljanoski.

Macedonia's parliament was dissolved on Wednesday, more than a year before conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's mandate was to expire.

The early vote was pushed by the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, a junior coalition partner that disagreed with Gruevski's choice of a candidate for the April 13 presidential election.

Gruevski endorsed the current president, Gjorge Ivanov, for re-election.