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SKOPJE, North Macedonia's ruling party, admitted defeat on May 8 in presidential and parliamentary elections, paving the way for right-wing opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova to become the country's first female president and allow perhaps it is up to new leaders to shape the future of the nation.

Siljanovska-Davkova, 70, supported by the nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, held a considerable lead Stevo Pendarovski, pro-Western outgoing president over 61 years old, supported by the ruling Social Democrats (SDSM), in the vote made necessary when no candidate obtained the majority of votes in the first round for this position essentially ceremonial.

With more than 50 percent of the ballots counted, Siljanovska-Davkova received 64 percent of the vote.

At a late press conference, Pendarovski admitted defeat, saying “the results are clear. I want to congratulate the victory of those who won.”

Meanwhile, in a simultaneous but separate parliamentary vote, the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party held a wide lead with 34 percent after 43 percent of the ballots were counted. The SDSM was at the bottom of the pack with 12 percent.

“I congratulate our political opponent VMRO-DPMNE on this electoral victory,” declared Dimitar Kovacevski, former Prime Minister and leader of the SDSM.

“The result is disappointing and it is a hard blow for the SDSM,” he added.

Election officials said that approximately 30 minutes before the polls closed, turnout was 46.31 percent in the presidential election, exceeding the required level of 40 percent for the vote to be valid. At the same time, turnout in the legislative elections was 53.3 percent, officials said.

Aleksandar Dashtevski, head of the State Election Commission, said at a press conference on May 8 that we had successful, fair and democratic elections.

“All citizens had the same right to vote [and] they voted of their own free will, he added.

The nationalist Macedonian Internal Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) looked poised for a strong showing after years in opposition, with its favored presidential candidate leading the way after a surprisingly high result in the first round last month.

Political analyst Marko Tosanovski told RFE/RL’s Balkans service that voters seem frustrated that the ruling parties have failed to lead the country out of economic doldrums, high inflation and pervasive corruption.

“The failures occurred on many levels, but more so because citizens did not see a quick response to correct these conditions,” Tosanovski said.

Pendarovski is the candidate of the ruling Social Democrats, who have kept the VMRO-DPMNE in opposition for the past seven years but appear hurt by his and his allies' perceived failure in the fight against corruption and the revival of the economy.

Pendarovski defended the country's desire to join the EU. North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020.

Siljanovska-Davkova criticized the pledge to bring about constitutional change establishing Bulgarians as a constituent people in North Macedonia, but acknowledged she would not block it if a two-thirds majority could be mustered to approve it .

In 2022, Skopje reluctantly gave in to Sofia's demand for change in order to convince Bulgaria to lift its veto at the start of framework negotiations between North Macedonia and the European Union.

North Macedonia's potential path to the EU, a sluggish economy and corruption were major themes of the campaign.

According to World Bank forecasters, North Macedonia and its 2.4 million people are expected to end 2024 with the worst economic performance and with the largest budget deficit among the six Western Balkan countries, which also include Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia. Herzegovina.

VMRO-DPMNE officials seemed convinced before the vote on the double bill that they had a realistic chance of governing alongside a like-minded president.

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said after Siljanovska-Davkova's good result in the first round: “I wouldn't be surprised if we had 61 deputies” in a parliament that currently has 120 members.

Kovacevski said after the vote: “It's clear that people punished us, and we accepted it.”

The priorities of the next government should be linked to the commitment to amend the constitution to pave the way for opening full negotiation chapters with the EU in North Macedonia.

VMRO-DPMNE campaigned on the idea that the EU negotiating framework can be changed.

The Macedonians have had EU candidate status since 2005, but their membership efforts ran into a long-running name dispute with Greece, which was resolved in 2019. They also found themselves blocked by EU's veto. EU member Bulgaria, which continues despite the 2022 compromise requiring the amendment. in the preamble of the Macedonian Constitution.

Siljanovska-Davkova also said she would “respect” the name change that removed the Greek veto “but I will not use it”, a reference to the name North Macedonia that has since appeared in all official contexts.

She told RFE/RL’s Balkans service that if the parliament – ​​which has so far failed to amend the constitution in line with the “French compromise” involving the Bulgarians – approves the constitutional amendment, it will respect this decision.

A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority and neither side appears likely to win, and the VMRO-DPMNE has consistently blocked the move.

With Reuters reporting