SKOPIE, North Macedonia — SKOPIE, North Macedonia (AP) — Presidential elections take place Wednesday in North Macedonia, a small Balkan country that has orbited the European Union for nearly two decades with little to show for its efforts to join the bloc of 27. nations.
A second round of voting will almost certainly be held on May 8, coinciding with the parliamentary elections, as no candidate is expected to surpass the 50% threshold required for an outright victory.
Seven candidates are running for the largely ceremonial post, with the short campaign period focusing on EU membership, the rule of law, fighting corruption and poverty reduction.
The latest poll by the Center for Political Research and Communications gave opposition-backed Gordana Siljanovska Davkova a lead of 3.6 percentage points over incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski.
Pendarovski, 61, is running for a second five-year term with the support of the country’s ruling Social Democrats.
Siljanovska Davkova, 70, is backed by the main centre-right opposition coalition, VMRO-DPMNE.
The two have disagreed over how to address neighboring Bulgaria’s insistence that Skopje enshrine recognition of a Bulgarian ethnic minority in its constitution. EU member Bulgaria has said it will otherwise block North Macedonia’s bid for membership in the bloc.
North Macedonia has been a candidate to join the EU since 2005, but membership talks only began in 2022 and the process is expected to take years.
Other presidential candidates include law professor Biljana Vankovska, a candidate for the left-wing Levica party, and two members of the ethnic Albanian minority: Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and Arben Taravari of an ethnic Albanian opposition party.
Unless someone wins outright on Wednesday, a runoff will be held between the top two candidates, where turnout will need to be at least 40% for a result to be valid.
North Macedonia has 1.8 million registered voters, out of a population of 2.3 million.
Polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm (05:00-17:00 GMT), local time. There are no exit polls and the first results are expected early Thursday.
Some 320 international observers will monitor the elections.
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