First round of North Macedonia's presidential polls shows big shift towards center

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Near-complete results from North Macedonia’s first round of presidential polls confirmed on Thursday a strong shift towards a candidate backed by the country’s center-right opposition.

It was the seventh such election in the small landlocked Balkan country since it gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

With 99.85% of Wednesday’s ballots counted, the State Electoral Commission said Gordana Siljanovska Davkova had 40.08% — that’s about double the votes of incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, who got 19.93%.

Siljanovska Davkova and Pendarovski, who is backed by the governing social democrats, will face off in a second round on May 8, when the country will also hold parliamentary elections.

The presidential election is largely seen as a barometer for the parliamentary vote. Political analyst Aleksandar Krzhalovski said the result of Wednesday’s voting will largely determine the runoff.