The right-wing ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, led by the country’s prime minister, was also the big winner of the second round of municipal elections in , as it prevailed in most municipalities where polling stations were set up.
Specifically, a second round was held today, November 2, in 33 municipalities, while in another 44 municipalities the match was decided by the first round held on October 19.
VMRO-DPMNE won 21 municipalities in the second round, including the metropolitan municipality of Skopje, while the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDSM) led by Venko Filipce won just three.
In total, VMRO-DPMNE won in 54 municipalities across the country — including all large municipalities dominated by the Slavic population — while SDSM won in just six small municipalities.
In the municipality of Skopje, VMRO-DPMNE candidate Orce Giorgijevski was elected as the new mayor with 57.5%, compared to 36.5% for his opponent, Amar Mecinovic, candidate of the anti-establishment, far-left party “Left”.
VMRO-DPMNE leader Christian Mickoski spoke of a “great victory” for his party.
“This is a victory for our suffering people, their dreams for which we are fighting, their hopes and for our common homeland,” said Hr. Mickoski.
In the Albanian political bloc, the winner of the municipal elections was the co-ruling coalition VLEN (Worth), which won a total of eight municipalities, including the large Albanian-speaking municipalities of Tetovo, Struga and Čire in Skopje. The opposition Albanian coalition “National Alliance for Integration – AKI”, led by the largest Albanian party in North Macedonia, DUI, of Ali Ahmet, emerged weakened from these municipal elections. Albanians make up 25% of the population of North Macedonia.
The participation rate in the second round of municipal elections was around 45%.
