Gordana Silianovska collected almost 40% and goes to the second round on May 8 with a wide lead over the outgoing Stevo Pendarovski – To Foreign Minister Boujar Osmani third place.
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The presidency of North Macedonia will be decided in a second round, as none of the seven candidates who took part in the first one exceeded 50%. VMRO-backed Gordana Silianovska took first place, reaching 40%, while outgoing president Stevo Pendarovski, who hails from the ruling Social Democratic party, garnered just under 20%.
Silianovska and Pendarovski will finally settle their differences in the second round, which takes place on May 8 together with parliamentary elections. Although the office of the president in the Balkan country does not have executive powers, the wide lead of the conservative candidate underlines the trend in favor of the official opposition party, which is expected, according to opinion polls, to be reflected in the parliamentary polls as well.
Third place is occupied by the foreign minister Boujar Osmani, who comes from the Albanian minority, with 13.6%.
The two candidates agree on the European perspective of North Macedonia, however they disagree on the handling of the veto put forward by Bulgaria, which requests the constitutional recognition of a Bulgarian minority. North Macedonia has been a candidate for membership since 2005, but negotiations began in 2022 and, by all accounts, are expected to last for years.
Tags: North Macedonia presidential election opposition candidate
