North Macedonians vote for next government, president

Voters are heading to the polls in North Macedonia to choose a new parliament and to decide on their next president.

Recent polls have indicated a possible change of power in the Balkan nation.

The nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE is expected to win the parliamentary election and lead the next governing coalition.

The party is also expecting good news in the run-off vote for the presidency.

Incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, 61, who is supported by the currently governing Social Democrats (SDSM), came a distant second in the first round a fortnight ago.

Challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, 70, from the VMRO-DPMNE received twice as many votes as Pendarovski.

During the election campaign, the nationalists announced that they would pursue a more confrontational course against neighbouring Greece and Bulgaria if they won.

This centres on the issue of the country's name, which Skopje changed from Macedonia to North Macedonia following an agreement with Athens in 2019, as well as minority rights.

Taking a harder stance against Greece could significantly hinder the accession negotiations that the EU opened with Skopje in July 2022.

EU member states Greece and Bulgaria have the right to veto practically every step of the negotiations.