North Macedonia's pro-Western candidate has narrowly won the first round of a presidential poll which comes amid deep divisions over the country's name change under a deal with Greece.

Stevo Pendarovski won with 42.6% of the votes, according to results on the State Election Commission website, which is based on 74% of counted votes.

Pendarovski's rival opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova came second with 41.6% of the vote. They will face each other in a run-off vote on May 5.

However, the State election commission put voter turnout at just 39%.

Pendarovski is a candidate from the governing SDSM coalition and a former adviser on national security in the Presidential Cabinet. He has adopted the campaign slogan of 'Together Forward' and is attempting to mobilise support across the ethnic divides of North Macedonia.

Pendarovski is a firm supporter of the Prespa Agreement, the accord which saw the Republic of Macedonia become North Macedonia, which could see the country gaining membership in NATO and the EU.

His pro-European message is being countered by Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the candidate from the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE. The University Professor is playing to a significant crowd of Macedonians who are against by the Prespa Agreement, adopting the slogan 'Justice for Macedonia'. She has called for the Prespa Agreement to be changed and has called it “degrading”.

However, analysts have said the low voter turnout on Sunday reflects the disillusion among young voters about the government's failure to tackle high unemployment and attract foreign investment. </s> Pro-Western candidate Stevo Pendarovski won the presidency in North Macedonia on Sunday in an election that many described as a referendum on the Balkan republic’s recent name change.

Pendarovski supports North Macedonia’s June 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia after a long dispute over the term “Macedonia.” Greece has a province that borders North Macedonia called Macedonia.

Voter turnout in North Macedonia was low at roughly 46.7 percent, according to the election commission website, which is just above the 40 percent threshold for the vote to be valid. Government-backed candidate Pendarovski had received roughly 436,000 votes as of Monday out of 1.8 million eligible voters.

The newly elected president’s support for the agreement will help North Macedonia move ahead in accession to the European Union and NATO, experts say.

Euronews looks at what is next for the republic.

Is this election a ticket to the European Union?

Although North Macedonia was given EU candidate status as early as 2005, the republic did not join either the EU or NATO after Greece blocked its adhesion to either group due to the naming dispute.

But the prospects for EU and NATO membership changed after North Macedonia, previously referred to as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia in a June 2018 agreement with Greece that went into effect in February.

The presidential election “sealed the Prespa agreement with Greece,” Borjan Jovanovski, editor-in-chief of the Macedonian news site NOVA TV, told Good Morning Europe. It shows that “North Macedonia is ready… to implement fully this agreement with Greece,” and that the country is “expecting a green light to start the membership talks with the EU.”

“The result from this presidential election means the guaranteed move as a country for membership of NATO and the EU, together with economic development in a world where we belong,” the newly elected Pendarovski declared in his victory speech on Sunday.

What happens next for North Macedonia?

Although a “win for the pro-European, pro-NATO and pro-reform social democrat coalition,” Janovski told Euronews, the election leaves a “bitter taste” since the “nationalist, populist” candidate received over 370,000 votes. It shows that the government has lost some support “only two years after the parliamentary election,” Janovski said.

“I hope triumphalism will not rule… and I know one thing, with this, all the problems of Macedonia will not be resolved,” opposing candidate Siljanovska-Davkova said as she conceded the election.

But the Prespa agreement has already had an impact on North Macedonia’s international standing. After the agreement was decided, NATO formally invited the country to begin accession talks to join NATO. Once the protocol is ratified by all 29 allies, the country will be NATO's 30th member.

Experts say this expansion of NATO will limit Russian influence in the Western Balkans.

EU accession will be a much longer process.

What’s been the reaction from Greece on the election?

Euronews’ correspondent Fay Doulgkeri reports from Athens that the Greek government is “satisfied” with the outcome of the election due to Pendarovski’s support of the Prespa agreement.

Members of the Greek government have been touring Greece to convince Greek people that the Prespa agreement is beneficial, Doulgkeri reports. But even as the Greek government ratified the Prespa agreement, early polling suggested that a majority of Greek people did not support the compromise.

Though the role of president in North Macedonia is largely ceremonial, the Greek government would not want a challenge to the Prespa agreement ahead of the European and general elections, Doulgkeri told Good Morning Europe. Greek general elections will take place in October 2019.

There is not yet an official statement from the Greek government, but the alternate foreign minister of Greece, Sia Anagnostopoulou, tweeted Monday, “North Macedonia ended its nationalistic past with VMRO. After the Prespa Agreement, our neighbours show that they determined to move forward, breaking all the nationalist obstacles."

Watch the full report in the player above </s> Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as N.Macedonia's new president in an inauguration ceremony in Skopje on Sunday in the presence of senior government officials, including outgoing president Gjorge Ivanov

Stevo Pendarovski, the newly-elected president of North Macedonian, has been sworn in on Sunday.

Speaking at the oath-taking ceremony, Pendarovski said his country will remain fully committed to Euro-Atlantic integration. Pendarovski, who is a supporter of North Macedonia's name change deal with Greece, said that he will be "everyone's president."

Election on May 5 was the sixth presidential election in the country's modern history, but the first since it made a momentous name change.

Last June, the country agreed to change its name in line with a deal under which Greece dropped its objection to North Macedonia joining NATO and the EU.

Since Macedonia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, the nation has had four presidents. Under the Constitution, a president can be elected for a maximum of two times. </s> Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as North Macedonia's new president in an inauguration ceremony in Skopje on Sunday in the presence of senior government officials, including outgoing president Gjorge Ivanov.

Government-backed candidate Pendarovski had received roughly 436,000 votes as of Monday. There were 1.8 million eligible voters.

Pendarovski supports North Macedonia’s June 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia after a long dispute over the term “Macedonia.”

The newly elected president’s support for the agreement will help North Macedonia move ahead in accession to the European Union and NATO, experts say.

Read More: What’s next for North Macedonia? | Euronews Answers </s> Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as North Macedonia's new president in an inauguration ceremony in Skopje on Sunday in the presence of senior government officials, including outgoing president Gjorge Ivanov.

Pendarovski, a 56-year-old law professor, defeated nationalist candidate and university professor Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova last week.

Government-backed candidate Pendarovski had received roughly 436,000 votes as of Monday. There were 1.8 million eligible voters.

Pendarovski supports North Macedonia’s June 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia after a long dispute over the term “Macedonia.”

Greece has a province that borders North Macedonia called Macedonia.

The newly elected president’s support for the agreement will help North Macedonia move ahead in accession to the European Union and NATO, experts say.

Read More: What’s next for North Macedonia? | Euronews Answers </s> Stevo Pendarovski has been inaugurated as the new president of North Macedonia, calling for "reconciliation" in a deeply divided society.

In his inauguration speech before parliament on May 12, Pendarovski promised he will serve all citizens and said, "It is time to heal open wounds from our recent past and to really start civil reconciliation."

"There are so many divisions, especially political," he said.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by the presidents of Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Kosovo, as well as Pendarovski's predecessor, former president Gjorge Ivanov.

Pendarovski told lawmakers that the country will have to tackle two priorities: economic development and the fight against "corruption, crime, and nepotism."

He said he will lobby European Union leaders to approve the opening of North Macedonia's accession talks in June.

Pendarovski, backed by North Macedonia's ruling Social Democratic Union (SDSM), won the presidential election runoff on May 5 with nearly 52% of the vote.

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the candidate favored by the main conservative opposition VMRO DPMNE party, had 45%.

Turnout was less than 47%.

Pendarovski, a former political-science professor, has strongly supported the so-called Prespa deal signed with Greece last year to change the country's name.

Siljanovska-Davkova has been critical of it, though the opposition has said it would not cancel the accord. She is also a strong proponent of EU and NATO integration.

The signing of the historic agreement with Greece changed the country's name to North Macedonia and ended a decades-long dispute that had blocked the Balkan state's path to NATO and the EU.

Ivanov, who ended his second and last five-year presidential term on May 12, was a fierce opponent of the deal.

Some information for this story came from AP. </s> Pendarovski sworn in as new North Macedonia president

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Stevo Pendarovski has been sworn in as the new president of North Macedonia, promising he will serve all citizens in a deeply divided society and will lobby European Union leaders to approve the start of his country's accession talks in June.

The 56-year-old was sworn in before lawmakers Sunday. He won the election May 5 in a tightly contested runoff with a conservative rival.

The presidents of Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo attended the inauguration ceremony.

Pendarovski is a strong supporter of the deal with Greece, finalized in February, that ended a decades-long dispute over the name Macedonia, in exchange for the prospect of NATO and European Union membership.

Former president Gjorge Ivanov, who ended his second and last five-year term Sunday, was a fierce opponent of the name deal. </s> SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Stevo Pendarovski, the presidential candidate backed by North Macedonia’s center-left government, won the presidency Sunday in a runoff election with a conservative rival.

State election commission chief Oliver Derkorski announced late Sunday that with nearly 99 percent of the votes counted, Pendarovski, the candidate of the ruling Social Democratic Union, had won with 51.8% of the votes. Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the candidate favored by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, got 44.5%.

The two politicians had each received about 42% in the first round of voting April 21, which had three candidates.

Even before the official announcement, Social Democrat supporters had gathered at the party’s headquarters in downtown Skopje, the country’s capital, to celebrate as favorable results trickled in.

“This is a victory for all who are convinced that we have to continue forward together and I promise I’ll serve all the people equally,” Pendarovski said from the Social Democrats’ headquarters. He also thanked the people for their “wise choice.”

“Our path is paved with success. … We all will continue to move forward toward our common goal of progress and … toward NATO and the European Union,” said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Siljanovska accepted her defeat but took a rosy view.

“The figures say defeat, but I’ve never felt more fulfilled .,” she said. “I believed I could help Macedonia to gain democracy. … I know that the other candidate has won, but I know that I did not lose the battle.”

The election was seen as a test of the government’s pro-West policies. Pendarovski backed the government deal with Greece that renamed the country in exchange for NATO membership, while Siljankovska criticized it.

A key question in the runoff had been whether voter turnout would reach the 40% threshold needed for the election to be valid. The head of the election commission said the final turnout figure was 46.4% of registered voters, in what he had earlier termed a “peaceful and dignified” election.

Election observers reported a small number of minor infractions, such as voters photographing ballots with cellphones and disturbances outside some polling stations.

North Macedonia’s previous constitutional name was the Republic of Macedonia. The name change took effect in February as part of an agreement to end a decades-long dispute with Greece, which blocked the former Yugoslav republic’s path to membership in NATO and the European Union over rights to the Macedonia name.

Both Pendarovski, 55, and Siljanovska, 63, are law professors. Siljanovska said as she cast her ballot Sunday that she would respect the new constitutional name in a professional capacity “but will not use it personally” and planned to do her “best to show that the Prespa agreement (with Greece) has severe (legal) problems.”

Although the presidency is mostly ceremonial, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger an early parliamentary election. Prime Minister Zaev, who staked his reputation on negotiating the name deal, said he would call one if Pendarovski were not elected.

Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov, a conservative, is serving his second and final five-year term, which ends on May 12. Ivanov opposed the agreement with Greece.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. </s> Following his second-round victory in the Republic of North Macedonia’s presidential elections, ruling coalition candidate Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as head of state on May 12, pledging to be president for all and to co-operate with the opposition.

“The first thing I will do is co-operate with the opposition. The time has come to heal the open wounds and enable reconciliation,” said Pendarovski, a 56-year-old academic and politician who is the country’s fifth president and the first to take office after the former Yugoslav republic changed its name. The constitutional role of North Macedonia’s head of state is largely ceremonial.

Noting that he had been backed by the political majority, he said that he saw his first task as President as being to protect the status and rights of the political minority “because democracy endures only when the various minorities in society are protected by the will of the majority”.

Political differences among people and parties would continue because they are natural and necessary, but the energy and potential of society can be united, Pendarovski said.

There was no other such small country in Europe in which there was so much division in society, he said.

One of the biggest challenges was the fight against corruption and organised crime, he said.

He said that his main goal would be North Macedonia’s entry into the EU and Nato, as well as the preservation of ethnic equilibrium.

Among those attending the ceremony were Albanian President Ilir Meta, Bulgarian President Roumen Radev, Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos, Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srđan Darmanović, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakcı and Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Maciej Lang, as well as Pendarovski’s predecessor as President, Gjorge Ivanov, and Branko Crvenkovski, President from 2004 to 2009. Those in the parliamentary hall for the swearing-in ceremony included MPs from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE.

Pendarovski becomes head of state in a changed political environment in North Macedonia, following the landmark agreement that ended the long-standing dispute with Greece over the use of the name “Macedonia”. Skopje and Sofia earlier achieved ratification of a long-awaited good-neighbourliness agreement.

In February 2019, the permanent representatives of Nato member states signed the accession protocol of North Macedonia, now undergoing the process of ratification by legislatures of the alliance’s member states.

The agreement on the name Republic of North Macedonia cleared away Greece’s objections to the country’s path towards membership of the EU. Subject to a number of conditions, talks on North Macedonia’s EU accession may begin in June 2019. The country has had EU membership candidate status since December 2005.
• With reporting by the
Stevo Pendarovski is sworn in as the President of North Macedonia after winning the election, the first after the Prespa agreement.