SKOPJE (North Macedonia), May 6 (SeeNews) – North Macedonia’s presidential run-off held on Sunday was calm and well run but shortfalls in the legal framework continued to be a concern, international observers said on Monday.
“This election cycle has now been brought to a successful conclusion, with voters freely able to choose between distinct choices,” Sereine Mauborgne, special co-ordinator and leader of the OSCE short-term observer mission, said in a statement.
The candidate of the governing left-wing SDSM party, Stevo Pendarovski, won the second round of North Macedonia’s presidential elections, the State Election Commission (SEC) said earlier on Monday. Turnout was 46.70%, above the 40% threshold needed for the run-off vote to be valid.
“Yesterday’s increased voter turnout shows determination by the population to unite and address the challenges facing this country. It is now up to the political leadership to hear this message and undertake real reform that will replace the legal patchwork requiring constant political agreements with a coherent and sustainable electoral law,” she added.
According to international observers, the fact that citizens whose identification documents had expired were excluded from voting needs to be addressed.
“Election day was well prepared, and passed calmly and peacefully,” said Corien Jonker of the OSCE office for democratic institutions and human rights (ODIHR). “But democracy is not just about election day. Political will is needed to ensure that genuinely inclusive legal reforms are followed by a consistent implementation that builds and keeps citizens’ trust.”
Based on 100% of the ballots counted, Pendarovski was elected for a five-year term with 51.66% of the vote versus 44.73% for the candidate of opposition conservative party VMRO-DPMNE party, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.
Speaking shortly after polls closed, Pendarovski hailed the outcome of the vote as a great victory for North Macedonia and a demonstration of national unity.
“Together, we will build a state with a European future,” Pendarovski said in a statement posted on Facebook.
A total of 1.8 million people aged 18 and over were eligible to vote.
The OSCE/ODIHR mission deployed 170 observers for the elections in North Macedonia.