North Macedonia Will Go to the Polls on April 24 To Elect President 

Skopje (BETAPHOTO/SVETLANA DOJCINOVIC/DS)

Presidential elections in North Macedonia will be held on April 24, with seven candidates running for the post.

Election silence began on midnight and will last until polls close at 7 pm on Election Day, but during this period campaigning will be allowed for parliamentary elections, to be held in parallel with a run-off vote on Wednesday, May 8.

Two candidates have the best chance of going into the run-off - incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, supported by the coalition around the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, a candidate of the coalition led by conservative party VMRO DPMNE.

Two ethnic Albanian parties will also join the presidential race –Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, will run as the candidate of the European Front coalition led by the biggest Albanian party DUI, and Gostivar Mayor Arben Taravari will represent the Albanian opposition Vredi, backed by the Self-Determination movement of Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti.

Other presidential candidates are Stevco Jakimovski, the head of the Skopje municipality of Karpos and leader of a small party Grom (Thunder), university professor Biljana Vankovska, who is supported by small parliamentary party Levica (the Left), and Kumanovo Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski, running as a candidate of newly formed party called I Know – for Our Macedonia. 

According to the National Electoral Commission’s data, 1,814,317 people are eligible to cast ballots in presidential vote, and 1,815,350 in parliamentary elections. A total of 942 observers have been accredited for the elections, including OSCE observation mission, foreign reporters and translators.