For decades, Macedonia was left out of the fold as other former republics of Yugoslavia and neighbors in the region joined the European Union and its common market.

In February, Macedonian lawmakers ratified a deal to change the country’s name officially to the Republic of North Macedonia, formally ending the dispute with Greece. Weeks later, the Greek Parliament ratified the agreement, albeit after protests and threats to the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

NATO immediately moved to reward North Macedonia with a process that could make it the alliance’s 30th member later this year. The path to European Union membership is less certain, despite the name compromise and changes to the judiciary and other government institutions that are being put in place.

Last September, North Macedonia held a nonbinding referendum on the name change. The turnout was too low to validate the result, but those who voted overwhelmingly endorsed the new name.

Simonida Kacarska, the director of the European Policy Institute, a think tank in Skopje, said that with the name change, the referendum, changes to the Constitution, an orderly presidential election and a judiciary reform process, the European Union should be satisfied and accept “this country that has been stuck in the waiting room for over a decade on the path to become a member of the bloc.”

“The ball is now definitely in the European Union’s court,” she said in an interview.

The current president, Gjorge Ivanov, who opposed the deal with Greece, leaves office this month because of term limits. The responsibilities he will hand off to Mr. Pendarovski include 25 decrees — mostly related to welfare payments for the unemployed and families living below the poverty line — that Mr. Ivanov has refused to sign into law because the letterhead now has a seal of North Macedonia.

Mr. Pendarovski said he had his work cut out for him the day after being sworn in.

“I will sign 25 decrees into law, first thing in the morning,” he said.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - North Macedonia’s pro-Western candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, won a run-off presidential vote after a campaign dominated by divisions over a change to the country’s name that was agreed to mollify Greece and open the way for EU and NATO membership.

Presidential candidate of the ruling SDSM Stevo Pendarovski celebrates after preliminary results during the presidential election in Skopje, North Macedonia May 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

The State Election Commission results based on 99.5 percent the votes counted showed 51.7 percent of the votes going to Pendarovski, who is the candidate of the ruling coalition and a long-serving senior civil servant and academic.

His rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, got 44.7 percent of the votes.

The two finished neck-and-neck in the first round of voting two weeks ago. The victory puts more wind into the sails of the ruling coalition, which expects to get a date to start EU accession talks in June and become the 30th NATO member state next year.

“The victory of this concept brings a future for the republic of North Macedonia and it’s our ticket to Europe,” Pendarovski told reporters after the election results were announced.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev congratulated Pendarovski and said, “As of today no one can stand in the way of progress. We showed we are ready for Europe.”

Johannes Hahn, the European Union Commissioner in charge of enlargement, also had warm words.

“North Macedonia can count on the EU’s continued support for its EU accession perspective, thus responding to the strong European aspirations of its people,” Hahn tweeted.

ENGINEERING ELECTION

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide North Macedonians and has eclipsed all other campaign issues.

In contrast to Pendarovski, Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change, although she is also pro-European Union. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

VMRO-DPMNE accused the government of “engineering election,” adding it had information of the ruling coalition bribing voters and threatening them, among other things.

The president holds a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

The refusal of outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia.

Turnout on Sunday was 46.6 percent, above the 40 percent threshold needed for the election result to be valid but still low, which analysts attributed to voters’ disappointment with a pace of reforms.

Slideshow (18 Images)

A Balkans expert at a University of Graz, Florian Bieber said the election result confirmed commitment to the name agreement with Greece.

“Now it’s time to advance rule of law and for the EU to give green light for accession talks,” he tweeted.

Once a part of Yugoslavia, the country peacefully seceded in 1991 but came close to civil war in 2001 when ethnic Albanians launched an armed insurgency seeking greater autonomy. NATO and EU diplomacy pulled it back from the brink of civil war.</s>Stevo Pendarovski, the candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, was in the lead after voting ended on May 5 in the second round of the Republic of North Macedonia’s presidential elections, according to early results.

Voting ended at 7pm Skopje time, with turnout at 44.5 per cent, sufficient for the vote to be valid.

With just more than 30 per cent of the votes counted, Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political science professor, had about 57 per cent to 40 per cent for his rival, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the candidate of former ruling party, the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE.

Reports from Skopje on the evening of May 5 said that Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s Social Democratic Union already had claimed victory, “warning the opposition not to bet on fake news to justify its defeat”.

The VMRO-DPMNE said that if Pendarovski were named the winner, this would be the result of “election engineering” on behalf of the ruling party.

Casting his ballot on May 5, Pendarovski – who two weeks earlier had just more than a mere 4000 votes more than Siljanovska-Davkova, said that he expected an even more convincing victory at the second round.

Official results are required to be announced within 24 hours of the close of voting.

The 2019 vote was the sixth presidential election in North Macedonia. Whoever wins will become the country’s fifth head of state.

The Republic of North Macedonia’s incumbent President, Gjorge Ivanov, could not stand again, having used up his two constitutional terms as head of state.

Ivanov served as head of state on the ticket of the VMRO-DPMNE, the country’s former long-standing ruling party, and was a vehement critic of the former Yugoslav republic’s agreement with Greece that brought to an end the dispute on the use of the name “Macedonia”.</s>SKOPJE, North Macedonia — Polls have opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round.

More than 3,400 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. Sunday.

The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democrats, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, finished in a near dead heat, with about 42% of the votes each, in the first round on April 21.

A key question is whether turnout will reach the 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past, with a turnout of 41.8%.

If declared invalid, the two-round contest for the largely ceremonial post will be repeated.</s>The rivals running for North Macedonia's presidency, Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, cast their ballots in the May 5 runoff in Skopje. Pendarovski represents the ruling coalition while Siljanovska-Davkova has been nominated by the opposition contesting the country's recent name change from Macedonia to North Macedonia.</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>Voters in North Macedonia will elect a new president Sunday in a runoff vote dominated by deep divisions over a change in the country's name agreed to with Greece that has opened the path to NATO and European Union membership.

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for the presidential election, when about 1.8 million voters will choose between two candidates who got through to the second round.

The ruling coalition's candidate, a long-serving public official and academic, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, finished neck and neck in the first round two weeks ago.

In the runoff, political analysts give the advantage to Pendarovski, who is expected to win support from voters of the second-largest Albanian party, whose candidate, Blerim Reka, came in third in the first round.

"We are halfway to full NATO membership, and in two months we expect a date to begin membership talks with the EU," Pendarovski told supporters at a rally. "After 10 years Macedonia deserves to have a president who will speed up every positive government policy."

Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change accord but is also pro-EU. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

The refusal of outgoing President Gjeorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language — 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia. 

 

 Threat of low turnout

The main concern is that if voter turnout falls below 40 percent in the second round, the election will be declared invalid. In that case, the speaker of parliament would become interim president and new elections would have to be held.

"The ruling coalition voters are disappointed with the pace of reforms, while opposition supporters see that their candidate is not set to win, so many people are likely to stay at home," said Petar Arsovski, an analyst.

Turnout in the first round of voting was 41.6 percent.

Some opponents of the name change planned to boycott Sunday's vote.

"Vote? Why? Voting means I'm giving legitimacy to the name change. No thanks," said Dejan Temelkovski, 47, a dentist. "By not choosing a president, we are sending a message to all politicians that it is enough."

Polling stations will be open until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), with the first preliminary results due two hours later.</s>Presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski (c) from the ruling SDSM addresses the Roma community as candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (c down) from opposition VMRO-DPMNE watches on the last day of the presidential campaign in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday. More than 1.8 million voters choose between two candidates in the second round of North Macedonia's presidential election which is scheduled for Sunday.

Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month’s first round.

Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a country deeply polarized between the governing Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE conservatives. Turnout will be crucial, with 40 percent needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past that point, with a turnout of 41.8 percent.

Campaigning in the first round centered on a recent deal the Balkan country reached with neighboring Greece to rename itself North Macedonia in exchange for Athens dropping objections to it joining NATO and the European Union. This time round, the candidates have focused more on the issues of corruption, crime, poverty and brain drain.

Here is a look at the two contenders for North Macedonia’s presidency.

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63: The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock ‘n’ roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

 

 Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan “Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls.” She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country’s name to North Macedonia and had hinted she would challenge the name agreement in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But last week, Siljanovska said during a debate on national television MTV she will not “spend the whole mandate in reviewing the name agreement with Greece.”

“I will fight for democratization of the undemocratic Macedonian political system,” she added.

During a campaign speech, Siljanovska said her country needs a “radical reversal,” and described it as being “in many elements a failed state.”

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country’s first constitution.

Stevo Pendarovski, 56: A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovskis second bid for the presidency after being defeated by Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He has defended the name deal with Greece, arguing it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan “Forward Together” reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring foreign investment, jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

“People should know what is at stake, they should not stay passive,” he said during the television debate. “They have to go out and choose between two concepts – the one that is for progress, cohesion and integration in the strongest international organizations, [and] the other that draws the country back in time.” [AP]</s>North Macedonians on Sunday headed to polls for the second round of voting to elect the country’s next president for the next five years.

A total of 1.8 million eligible voters have started to cast ballots in the election as of 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and it will end by 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). According to the results of the first round held on April 21, the governing Social Democrats' (SDSM) candidate Stevo Pendarovski won 42.8% of the votes and opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova won 42.2% vie for the post in the runoff.

Pendarovski is supported by the government and has the backing of 31 political parties, including the Union of Social Democrats of Macedonia (SDSM), the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), AlternAtivA, the Turkish Movement Party (THP), and the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP).

Davkova, the only woman candidate, is seeking the presidency with the support of the main opposition union. She favors cancelling the country’s name change deal. Sunday's election is the sixth presidential election in the country's modern history, but the first since it made a momentous name change. Under the law, voter turnout in the runoff must be at least 40% for it to produce a winner.

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>SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - The Latest on the runoff presidential election in North Macedonia (all times local):

Election officials in North Macedonia say voter turnout in the runoff presidential election is close to the threshold needed for results to be valid.

North Macedonia's State Electoral Commission said that as of 5 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), turnout stood at 38.2 percent. The election for the largely ceremonial post needs 40 percent to stand.

If too few ballots are cast Sunday, the two-round contest would have to be repeated and the parliament speaker would serve as interim president.

The two candidates, both law professors, are Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democratic Union, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, who was backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, centre, presidential candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, talks to the media after voting for the presidential election, in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Polls opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round. The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democrats, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, finished in a near dead heat, with about 42% of the votes each, in the first round on April 21. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Polls have opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round.

More than 3,400 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. Sunday.

The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democrats, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, finished in a near dead heat, with about 42% of the votes each, in the first round on April 21.

A key question is whether turnout will reach the 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past, with a turnout of 41.8%.

If declared invalid, the two-round contest for the largely ceremonial post will be repeated.

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, presidential candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, holds her ballot prior voting for the presidential election at a polling station, in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Polls opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round. The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democrats, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, finished in a near dead heat, with about 42% of the votes each, in the first round on April 21. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, presidential candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, casts her ballot for the presidential election at a polling station, in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Polls opened in North Macedonia for a presidential election runoff between two top vote-getters from the first round. The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democrats, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, finished in a near dead heat, with about 42% of the votes each, in the first round on April 21. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Voters in North Macedonia head to the polls for the second round of the 2019 presidential election. Stevo Pendarovski of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia wins over his opponent Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.