North Macedonia’s right-wing opposition looks set to record big wins in Wednesday’s parliamentary and presidential elections as voters look to voice their dissatisfaction with endemic corruption and the country’s stalled bid to join the EU.
Early results show that the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party has made substantial gains after scoring 34% of the votes after 23% had been counted. The incumbent Social Democrats (SDSM) have so far performed poorly, trailing with just 11.55% of votes.
In the presidential election, VMRO-DPMNE's candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova looks likely to become the country's first female head-of-state after early results showed her polling 62.74% of the votes after just under a third had been counted.
Voters have become increasingly frustrated with the country’s slow progress in obtaining EU membership. Angling for membership since 2005, the nation’s failure to be inducted into the EU has been viewed as almost symbolic of the country’s lost promise.
Lingering corruption has also been cited as another reason for the anti-government backlash. According to analysts, the parliamentary elections will most likely be decided when the leading parties form coalitions with smaller ones to claim a majority.
In the presidential election, VMRO-DPMNE's candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova looks likely to become the country's first female head-of-state after early results showed her polling 62.74% of the votes after just under a third had been counted.
Voters have become increasingly frustrated with the country’s slow progress in obtaining EU membership. Angling for membership since 2005, the nation’s failure to be inducted into the EU has been viewed as almost symbolic of the country’s lost promise.
Lingering corruption has also been cited as another reason for the anti-government backlash. According to analysts, the parliamentary elections will most likely be decided when the leading parties form coalitions with smaller ones to claim a majority.
Source: Reuters
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