Ahead of incumbent

Opposition candidate wins in North Macedonia

The conservative candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was able to celebrate an election victory.(Bild: AFP)

The conservative candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova clearly prevailed over incumbent Stevo Pendarovski in the presidential election in North Macedonia on Wednesday. After four-fifths of the votes had been counted, the opposition VRMO-DPMNE candidate achieved 39.8 percent, while Pendarovski received 19.4 percent. As no one achieved an absolute majority of votes, there will be a run-off election on May 8.

Pendarovski was able to keep Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani at bay, who achieved a respectable 14.3 percent of the vote. Osmani had run for the co-ruling Democratic Integration Union (DUI), the party of the Albanians of North Macedonia. He had gained considerable political stature in the past year as the incumbent OSCE chairman. According to the state election commission, voter turnout was just under 49 percent.

Neck-and-neck race for the run-off election
While Siljanovska-Davkova's place in the run-off was no longer up for grabs, Pendarovski and Osmani were neck-and-neck for second place in the second round of voting. According to the state election commission, voter turnout was just under 49 percent.

Incumbent Stevo Pendarovski(Bild: AFP)

The authorities had previously reported a calm election. As expected, voter turnout remained low, although citizens were given a day off work to go to the polls. According to the state election commission, the turnout was only 12.78 percent by 11.00 am.

Voter turnout will only become relevant in the second round of voting. It must be at least 40 percent for the election to be valid. The run-off election on May 8 will take place at the same time as the parliamentary elections.