North Macedonian elections set to test EU ambitions
Al Jazeera
Predicted victory for nationalist VMRO-DPMNE may stir tensions with EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria.
North Macedonians go to polls to vote in parliamentary and presidential elections that can present a test for the Balkan state’s European Union ambitions.
The votes on Wednesday come after Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE took a clear lead in the first round of the presidential poll held last month. Victory for the nationalist party would set the stage for tension with neighbouring Greece and Bulgaria, threatening to weigh on already slow EU accession talks.
North Macedonia’s road to EU membership started in 2005, but progress was blocked for years by Greece in a dispute over the country’s name. That was resolved in 2018 when the country added “North” to its name.
However, Hristijan Mickoski, president of VMRO-DPMNE, which heads a 22-party coalition called Your Macedonia, refuses to acknowledge the new title.
Mickoski has also promised to maintain a hard line with Bulgaria over linguistic and historical issues. That tussle, in which Bulgaria demands that Skopje recognise a tiny Bulgarian minority, has seen Sofia block EU accession talks.
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