Wikipedia

2024 North Macedonian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in North Macedonia on 24 April 2024. Incumbent Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling centre-left Social Democrats ran for re-election to a second term.

2024 North Macedonian presidential election
← 2019 24 April 2024 (first round)
8 May 2024 (second round)		 2029 →
Turnout49.91% (first round) Increase 8.24pp
47.47% (second round) Increase 0.81pp
 
Nominee Gordana Siljanovska Stevo Pendarovski
Party VMRO-DPMNE SDSM
Alliance Your Macedonia For a European Future
Popular vote 561,000 251,899
Percentage 69.01% 30.99%
President before election

Stevo Pendarovski
SDSM

Elected President

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
VMRO-DPMNE

No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, with right-wing challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova placing first by a wide margin winning 41.2% of the vote, while Pendarovski received 20% of the vote coming in second place. The two faced off in the second round run-off on 8 May,[1] which was held alongside parliamentary elections.[2][3] In the second round, Siljanovska defeated the incumbent Pendarovski by a wide margin and became the first woman to be elected as President of North Macedonia.[4] She was inaugurated on 12 May.[5]

Electoral system

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The President of North Macedonia is elected using a modified two-round system; a candidate can only be elected in the first round of voting if they receive the equivalent of over 50% of the vote from all registered voters.[6] In the second round, voter turnout must be at least 40% for the result to be deemed valid.[7] Before 2009, the constitution required turnout in the second round to be 50% to validate the result. However, the XXXI amendment approved on 9 January 2009 lowered the threshold to 40%,[7] as the then-government feared the trend of reducing turnouts would lead to presidential elections being frequently invalidated. In the 2009 presidential elections, second round turnout was just 42.6%.[8]

In order to contest the election, potential candidates are required to collect signatures from at least 10,000 registered voters or 30 MPs.[9]

The constitution mandates that the President must be over 40 years of age and have lived in the country for ten of the last fifteen years.

Campaigning began on 4 April 2024.[10]

Candidates

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Ballot position[11] Candidate Affiliation Declared intent to run Signatures collected/endorsements[12]
1. Stevo Pendarovski (incumbent) SDSM[a] 28 February 2024[15] 22,413
2. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova VMRO-DPMNE[b] 22 February 2024[17] 30 MPs
3. Stevčo Jakimovski GROM[c] 21 February 2024[19] 11,292
4. Bujar Osmani Democratic Union for Integration[d] 22 February 2024[21] 11,085
5. Biljana Vankovska [mk] Independent[e] 7 February 2024[22] 10,568
6. Arben Taravari Alliance for Albanians[f] 15 February 2024[23] 10,708
7. Maksim Dimitrievski ZNAM 22 February 2024[24] 11,605
  1. ^ Endorsed by SDSM. Also endorsed by LDP, DOM, NSDP, SDA, PEI, PDPR, PDT, POEN, VMRO-NP, SDU, DSVM, PP and SRM.[13][14]
  2. ^ Endorsed by VMRO-DPMNE. Also endorsed by SPM.[16]
  3. ^ Also endorsed by Macedonian Conservative Party INTEGRA[18]
  4. ^ Also endorsed by DPA, AA (Ziadin Sela faction), People's Movement, European Democratic Party, Union of the Roma, DPT, Movement of Turks for Justice and Democracy and Bosniak Democratic Union[20]
  5. ^ Endorsed by The Left
  6. ^ Endorsed by Coalition "Worth" (Albanian: Vlen), which includes Besa, Alternative, Democratic Movement and the Arben Taravari faction of Alliance for Albanians

Failed to collect enough signatures

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Candidate Affiliation Declared intent to run Signatures collected[25]
Velo Markovski Independent[a] 19 October 2023[26] 1,668
Gospodin Poposki Independent 15 February 2024[27] 147
Gjorgji Manaskov Independent 16 February 2024[28] 496
Mersiha Smailović [mk] Bosniak Democratic Union 21 February 2024[29] 3,246
Zorica Cvetkovska Desna[30] 24 February 2024[31] 293
Goce Ristov Independent 4 March 2024[32] 6
Dragan Nikolovski Independent 6 March 2024[33] 8
  1. ^ Member of VMRO-DPMNE who has announced his run without his party's endorsement

Dropped out

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Candidate Affiliation Declared intent to run Dropped out Signatures collected
(23 February)[34]
Tome Nikoloski Independent 15 May 2023[35] 23 February 2024[36] 0

Campaign

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Presidential election advertisements in Skopje.

Stevo Pendarovski supported revising the constitution to include recognition of a Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia, a condition set by Bulgaria to allow the country's accession to the European Union. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova called for negotiations with the EU under a new framework and for such amendments to be made after North Macedonia attains EU membership. Pendarovski called on fighting corruption through taking on organized criminal groups, while Siljanovska-Davkova focused on the judiciary in her anti-corruption stance.[37][38]

Following the first round, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said "the hour has come for this government to go"[39] and described the results as a "new course". She also called on voters to prove "that we have always (belonged to) Europe". Stevo Pendarovski expressed surprise and disappointment with the result, but expressed hope for improvement in the second round, including with the support of the Albanian community.[40][41]

The Democratic Union for Integration, which represents ethnic Albanians and supported former Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani as a presidential candidate, offered its support in the second round to any candidate who supports having the President selected by the Assembly of North Macedonia in future elections, in the hopes of having an ethnic Albanian attaining the office. However, both Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova dismissed the proposal, saying it is democratic for the Presidency to be selected through direct voting.[41]

Conduct

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Polling in the first round opened at 07:00 on 24 April and lasted until 19:00 at 3,480 polling stations nationwide. About 1.8 million people were eligible to vote,[42][41] while around 2,300 domestic and international observers monitored the proceedings.[4]

Opinion polls

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First round
Polling firm Date Sample
size 		           
Pendarovski Siljanovska Taravari Osmani Dimitrievski Vankovska Jakimovski
SDSM VMRO-DPMNE ASh BDI ZNAM Levica GROM
Election Results 24 Apr 2024 881,039 20.5 41.2 9.5 13.7 9.5 4.7 0.9
IPIS Apr 2024 1,200 23.8 39.0 10.7 11.5 7.7 5.5 1.6
CRPC 8–13 Apr 2024 1,210 28.8 35.0 13.6 11.5 4.6 4.5 2.1
МКД.мк 15–24 Mar 2024 1,200 19.8 36.5 10.5 14.3 12.1 4.9 1.5
CRPC 4–7 Mar 2024 1,085 29.3 35.5 14.3 9.6 5.1 4.3 2.0
IPIS[a] 20 Feb 2024 1,212 22.3 39.2 13.4[b] 12.2 5.8 6.4 –
2019 election – 44.8 44.2 11.1[c] – – – –
Second round
Polling firm Date Sample
size 		   
Pendarovski Siljanovska
SDSM VMRO-DPMNE
Election Results 8 May 2024 812,899 31.0 69.0
МКД.мк 15–24 Mar 2024 1,200 44.2 55.8
2019 election – 53.6 46.4
  1. ^ Poll conducted before any candidates qualified to be on the ballot
  2. ^ Combined results for ASh and the VLEN coalition
  3. ^ Different candidate (Blerim Reka), endorsed by all parties of the VLEN coalition except Democratic Movement, which did not exist in 2019

Results

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Turnout by round and municipality
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Gordana Siljanovska-DavkovaVMRO-DPMNE363,08541.21561,00069.01
Stevo PendarovskiSocial Democratic Union of Macedonia180,49920.49251,89930.99
Bujar OsmaniDemocratic Union for Integration120,81113.71
Maksim DimitrievskiFor Our Macedonia83,8559.52
Arben TaravariAlliance for Albanians83,3379.46
Biljana Vankovska [mk]Independent[a]41,3314.69
Stevčo JakimovskiCitizen Option for Macedonia8,1210.92
Total881,039100.00812,899100.00
Valid votes881,03997.29812,89994.39
Invalid/blank votes24,5602.7148,2895.61
Total votes905,599100.00861,188100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,814,31749.911,814,31747.47
Source: State Election Commission Round 1, State Election Commission Round 2

Aftermath

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Following the release of the results, Stevo Pendarovski conceded defeat, while Siljanovska-Davkova acknowledged her being the first woman to be elected as president of North Macedonia and pledged to "stand with women in taking this great step forward, a step towards reform."[4]

According to international observers, the elections were "competitive and an extensive and pluralistic campaign helped voters to make an informed choice, but marred by negative rhetoric with nationalistic slogans, as well as shortcomings in the legislation and insufficient oversight of campaign finances".[43]

Reactions

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  •   Croatia — Prime Minister Andrej Plenković congratulated Siljanovska-Davkova on her victory.[44]
  •   European Union — Ambassador David Geer congratulated Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova for her election, noting that he is "looking forward to working closely with her for the European future of the country."[45] In addition, Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, congratulated Siljanovska-Davkova and highlighted the need "to speed up the necessary reforms to move forward in the EU accession negotiation process."[46]
  •   Hungary — Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated Siljanovska-Davkova and her VMRO-DPMNE on their "well-deserved and historic victory" in the presidential and parliamentary elections.[47] Orban added that he looked forward to working together on giving North Macedonia a "new momentum to the EU accession process".[48]
  •   Serbia — President Aleksandar Vučić congratulated Siljanovska-Davkova, saying that he was "confident that we will together continue to work on strengthening Serbia-Macedonia ties".[49]
  •   Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Siljanovska-Davkova and expressed optimism in cooperating with North Macedonia to ensure peace and stability in Europe.[50]
  •   United States — Ambassador Angela Aggeler expressed her "heartfelt congratulations" to Siljanovska-Davkova on her "historic election as the first female President." She also extended her congratulations "to all those citizens who exercised their right to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections."[51]

Notes

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  1. ^ Endorsed by The Left

References

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  1. ^ "Right-wing challenger wins first round in North Macedonia presidential election". France 24. 25 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. ^ "EU hopeful North Macedonia to hold May 8 presidential runoff with center-right candidate in the lead". AP News. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ "North Macedonia presidential election heads to runoff". dw.com. 26 April 2024. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "North Macedonia elects first woman president as center-left incumbents suffer historic losses". Associated Press. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  5. ^ "North Macedonia's new president reignites a spat with Greece at her inauguration ceremony". Associated Press. 12 May 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  6. ^ Polls Open in Macedonia Presidential Elections Archived 15 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Balkan Insight, 13 April 2014
  7. ^ a b Amendment XXXI Archived 19 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine Constitution of North Macedonia
  8. ^ Anna Fruhstorfer & Michael Hein (2016) Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Reform of Political Systems Archived 27 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine Springer, p235
  9. ^ "Изборен законик, член 59". Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  10. ^ "North Macedonia starts month-long presidential campaign season". Associated Press. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Познат редоследот на кандидатите за шеф на државата на гласачкото ливче". 360 степени (in Macedonian). 25 March 2024. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Претседателски избори 2024". Државна Изборна Комисија (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Поддршка за кандидатурата на Стево Пендаровски од коалициските партнери на СДСМ". СДСМ - Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија (in Macedonian). 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Инсерти, средба со коалициски партнери, СДСМ". YouTube. 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Извршниот одбор на СДСМ го поддржа Стево Пендаровски за кандидат за Претседател на државата". Skopje1 (in Macedonian). 28 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  16. ^ "СПМ: Единствен реален избор е кандидатката на Коалицијата "Обнова на Македонија" Силјановска Давкова". Сител Телевизија (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  17. ^ "ПОДНЕСОВ КАНДИДАТУРА ВО ВМРО-ДПМНЕ ЗА ПРЕТСЕДАТЕЛКА НА ДРЖАВАТА, РЕЧЕ ГОРДАНА СИЉАНОВСКА-ДАВКОВА". Сакам Да Кажам (in Macedonian). 22 February 2024. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. ^ "(ВИДЕО) ИНТЕГРА со поддршка за кандидатурата на Стевчо Јакимовски за претседател". А1он. 27 February 2024. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Стевчо Јакимовски, кандидат за претседател на ГРОМ". Televizija 24 (in Macedonian). 21 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Бошњачкиот демократски сојуз се приклучи кон Европскиот фронт на ДУИ". МКД.МК (in Macedonian). 1 April 2024. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  21. ^ Kadriu, Isuf (22 February 2024). "Osmani prezantohet si kandidat për president të Maqedonisë së Veriut". Radio Free Europe (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Левица ја одбра професорката Билјана Ванковска за кандидат за претседател". Televizija 24 (in Macedonian). 7 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  23. ^ "ЕСП ѝ фрла ракавица на ДУИ". Deutsche Welle (in Macedonian). 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Максим Димитриевски е кандидат за претседател на ЗНАМ – време е за промена на политичката сцена во Македонија". 360 степени (in Macedonian). 22 February 2024. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Претседателски избори 2024". Државна Изборна Комисија (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Вело Марковски најави независен настап на претседателските избори, но вели оти очекува поддршка од ВМРО-ДПМНЕ". 360 степени (in Macedonian). 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  27. ^ "Вмро дпмне го пуштат во терка преседател александар ѕпаѕеноѕки а македонскиот народ се одите ѕо претседателски кандидат господин попоски от вевчани поздрав до народот". Gospodin Poposki (Facebook) (in Macedonian). 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  28. ^ "ЃОРЃИ МАНАСКОВ - НАДПАРТИСКИ КАНДИТАТ ЗА ПРЕТСЕДАТЕЛ НА МАКЕДОНИЈА". Manaskov Gjorgji / Манасков Ѓорѓи (Facebook) (in Macedonian). 16 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Прв пат во историјата Бошњаците ќе имаат свој кандидат за претседател на Македонија – Мерсиха Смаиловиќ". TV 21 (in Macedonian). 21 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Соопштение за јавност и медиумите (бр. 02-2024)". Политичка партија ДЕСНА (in Macedonian). 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Зорица Цветковска - кандидат за Претседател на Република Македонија (Facebook)". Facebook. 24 February 2024. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  32. ^ "Известување за доставување на Иницијатива за собирање потписи за кандидатура за Претседател на државата". Државна Изборна Комисија (in Macedonian). 4 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Известување за доставување на Иницијатива за собирање потписи за кандидатура за Претседател на државата". Државна Изборна Комисија (in Macedonian). 6 March 2024. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Над 1000 потписи имаат Османи, Ванковска и Димитриевски, ДИК од утре еднаш дневно ќе известува за собраните потписи". Makfax (in Macedonian). 24 February 2024. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Tome Nikoloski (Facebook)". Facebook (in Macedonian). 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Македонски народе ја бојкотирам и ја прекинувам кампањата за претстојните претседателски избори,и моменталното собирање на потребните потписи". Tome Nikoloski (Facebook) (in Macedonian). 23 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  37. ^ "North Macedonia to elect president after campaign focused on hot-button issue of EU membership". Associated Press. 23 April 2024. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  38. ^ "North Macedonia votes in presidential polls as EU membership bid looms". Al Jazeera. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  39. ^ "EU membership on the table as North Macedonia holds first round of presidential vote". France 24. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  40. ^ "EU hopeful North Macedonia to hold May 8 presidential runoff with center-right candidate in the lead". Associated Press. 25 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  41. ^ a b c "N. Macedonia's right-wing candidate wins first round presidential election". France 24. 25 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  42. ^ "Longtime EU hopeful North Macedonia holds presidential polls centered on bloc accession, rule of law". Associated Press. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  43. ^ "North Macedonia's elections were competitive and voters well informed, although the process remains insufficiently regulated: international observers". OSCE. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  44. ^ Ваљакова, Гордана Милошевска (9 May 2024). "Орбан, Вучиќ, Пленковиќ со честитки за изборната победа на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ и Силјановска-Давкова". NetPress (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  45. ^ "Честитки до Силјановска-Давкова од евроамбасадорот Гир: Очекувам тесна соработка за европската иднина на земјата". TV 21 (in Macedonian). 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  46. ^ Kocovska, Silvana (9 May 2024). "Várhelyi congratulates Siljanovska Davkova on election victory". Mia.mk. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  47. ^ "Viktor Orbán Welcomes a Conservative Win in North Macedonian Elections". Hungary Today. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  48. ^ "Viktor Orbán Welcomes a Conservative Win in North Macedonian Elections". Hungary Today. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  49. ^ "Вучиќ и ја честита изборната победа на Сиљановска-Давкова". Сител Телевизија (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  50. ^ "Zelensky congratulates newly elected North Macedonian president". The Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  51. ^ Тимковска, Александра (9 May 2024). "Агелер со срдечни честитки до Силјановска-Давкова". Вечер, прв дознава. (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
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