Read more‘A moving target’: North Macedonia’s foreign minister on EU accession
“Only unity can push us forward… and make us feel proud,” the retired law professor and former MP told a rally on Monday night.
After voting, Siljanovska-Davkova remained confident saying, “the hour has come for this government to go”.
The message appears to resonate with many who are looking for a change.
“From these elections I expect total change of the government and finally the interests of Macedonia to be protected,” Filip Zdraveski, 38, told AFP after voting in the capital Skopje.
Wednesday’s vote will be closely monitored as a barometer for the parliamentary elections, said analyst Ana Petruseva, head of the North Macedonia branch of regional investigative reporting outlet BIRN.
“The presidential elections’ first round will be a dress-rehearsal for the parliamentary elections on May 8 and will reveal the major political parties’ standings,” she told AFP.
Eventual Albanian president?
Opinion polls have suggested Pendarovski is heading for defeat.
Siljanovska-Davkova leads in the polls with 26 percent support followed by Pendarovski on 16 percent.
The support of the five other candidates may be vital for the runoff, Petruseva added.
The five include Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, supported by the ethnic Albanian DUI party – a partner in the ruling coalition – and Arben Taravari of the opposition ethnic Albanian coalition.
The DUI has offered its backing in the second round on condition that future presidents be elected by MPs, which it hopes would one day lead to an ethnic Albanian holding the position.
Albanians make up more than a quarter of the country’s population of 1.8 million.
Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova have dismissed the idea, saying it is more democratic for the head of state to be selected through a direct vote.
Ordinary voters, however, seem more interested in making ends meet.
“I hope that whoever wins will improve living standards and make a better future, especially for young people,” civil servant Sanja Jovanovic-Damjanovska told AFP.
(AFP)
Source link : https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240424-eu-membership-on-the-table-as-north-macedonia-holds-first-round-of-presidential-vote
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Publish date : 2024-04-24 07:00:00
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