Local elections are being held today in North Macedonia. About 1.8 million people are registered to vote. Polls will open at 07:00 local time (8:00 Bulgarian time) and close at 19:00 (20:00 Bulgarian time). The first results are expected late Sunday evening.
The elections are for mayors and municipal councilors in 80 municipalities in the country, as well as in Skopje, which is a separate and self-governing municipality.
These are the eighth local elections since the country declared independence. 309 mayoral candidates and 577 lists for municipal council members with a total of 10,499 candidates have been nominated for the election. In the capital Skopje, where about 550,000 people live, 16 candidates are running for mayor.
To be elected mayor in the first round, it is necessary to have over 50% of the votes. If no candidate reaches this percentage, a second round will be held on November 2 between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round.
According to sociological surveys, the local elections in North Macedonia are expected to consolidate the dominance of the right-wing ruling VMRO-DPMNE, led by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
On the other hand, according to surveys, the opposition Social Democratic Union is expected to suffer another heavy loss, BNR reports.
Albanians, who make up 25% of the country's population, predominate in about 15 of North Macedonia's 81 municipalities. According to analysts, a major battle is expected there between the ruling Albanian coalition Vlen and the opposition coalition “Democratic Union for Integration“.