The Macedonian nationalist opposition clearly leads the count of the legislative and presidential elections held this Wednesday in North Macedoniawhose return to power could hinder the poor Balkan nation’s path towards European Union.
With 64.79% of the votes counted in the second round of the presidential elections, the right-wing Gordana Siljanovska-Davkovafrom the opposition party VMRO-DPMNEleads the results with 64.13% of the votes, ahead of the 29.59% in favor of Stevo Pendarovksicurrent president and candidate of the ruling social democratic SDSM party.
In the legislative elections, with 62.18% counted, VMRO-DPMNE obtains 40.27%, the governmental SDSM adds 13.72% and the main party of the Albanian minority, DUI, obtains 16.41%.
The return to power of the right-wing opposition in the Balkan nation of 1.8 million may fuel tensions with Greece and Bulgaria, the latter country blocking North Macedonia’s accession negotiations to the European Union over ethnolinguistic issues.
Entry into the European Union
North Macedonia’s bumpy road to the EU began in 2005, when it received candidate country status, but was blocked for years by Greece due to a dispute over the name of the country. This was resolved in 2018 when the Balkan nation added “North” to its name.
That agreement was highly criticized by the nationalists and the leader of the VMRO-DPMNE, Christian Mickoskirefuses to recognize the new official name, which may reignite tensions with Athens.
In addition, he has promised firmness with Bulgaria, a country that has been blocking accession talks to the European Union for two years until Skopje recognizes the existence of a small Bulgarian minority in the country.
If the victory of the VMRO-DPMNE in the parliamentary elections is confirmed, Mickoski will probably be the country’s next prime minister.
Mickoski has rebuilt the party since taking the reins in 2017, the year its former leader and former prime minister fled. Nikola Gruevskiaccused of corruption and who has obtained political refugee status in ultranationalist Hungary Viktor Orban.
Mickoski, known for his populist proclamations, emphasized the economy during the campaign, a message that came across in a country where the average salary is 630 euros and which has lost 10% of its population due to emigration.
The VMRO-DPMNE leader has also used increasingly aggressive rhetoric against DUI, the country’s largest Albanian party, raising tensions in a country where 24% of the population is ethnic Albanian.
In 2001, NATO prevented North Macedonia from falling into civil conflict during an armed Albanian rebellion and promised faster integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. The country joined NATO in 2020 but entry into the EU is still far away.
The social democratic SDSM government reached a historic agreement with Greece to resolve a dispute over the country’s name and managed to launch accession negotiations in 2022, but they were blocked by Bulgaria.
This country demands that there be a mention of the Bulgarian minority in the Constitution in exchange for its green light for Macedonian advancement towards the community club.
The deep division between the two main parties on the solution to the problem with Bulgaria prevents reaching a consensus in the national Parliament.
The SDSM Government accepted the Bulgarian condition for rapid rapprochement with the EU, but the VMRO-DPMNE demands guarantees that Bulgaria does not impose new obstacles on North Macedonia. EFE (I)
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