Macedonia - News Archive

Macedonia's Gruevski rejects opposition call for early elections

Posted: 06/29/2010
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski rejected on Monday (June 28th) opposition calls for early elections, while acknowledging that eac...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Leaders of Macedonia's DUI and SDSM meet

Posted: 05/19/2010
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) has no plans to quit the ruling coalition but believes some issues mu...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonian parliament OKs cabinet reshuffle

Posted: 07/13/2009
Nikola Gruevski's government is revamped amid a slew of resignations and the dismissal of the finance minister.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonia's SDSM elects new leaders

Posted: 06/08/2009
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The main opposition Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) elected Goran Georgiev, Zoran Zaev and Zoran Jovanovski as it...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Ivanov inaugurated as president of Macedonia

Posted: 05/13/2009
Macedonia's new president pledges to focus on Euro-Atlantic Integration, good relations with all neighbours and investment in state institutions and capacities.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

New Macedonian President Reaches Out To Greece

Posted: 05/12/2009
Promising to resolve an 18-year dispute with Greece over his country's name, Georgi IVANOV took office as Macedonia's fourth democratically elected president on Tuesday. IVANOV defeated Ljubomir FRCKOSKI of the Social Democratic Union in an April 5 runoff with 63 percent of votes. IVANOV's party is the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity.

Source: ElectionGuide

Second round of Macedonian elections successful; certain issues remain

Posted: 04/10/2009
Macedonia received a passing grade for fulfilling democratic standards according to the OSCE mission. However, observers suggest eliminating the 40% turnout requirement in the second round of presidential elections and revising voter lists.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonia Elects a New President

Posted: 04/06/2009
The vote gave the governing party and its candidate, Gjorge Ivanov, complete grip on political power in the Balkan country.

Read full story. Source: NYT > Europe

April 5 Run-Off Poll to Determine Macedonian Presidential Contest

Posted: 03/24/2009
Conservative candidate Gjorgje IVANOV will face rival Social Democrat Ljubomir FRCKOSKI  in a presidential run-off election on April 5, after none of the seven candidates running in the March 22 first-round vote captured the number of votes required to win Macedonia's presidency. IVANOV and FRCKOSKI won the two largest shares of the vote on Sunday night, with 35 and 20 percent of the vote, respectively. Foreign and international observers monitoring the electoral process declared the March 22 poll democratic and peaceful. Speaking at a press conference the day after Election Day, international election observers from the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) reported that the presidential elections "met most international standards," and were "generally well managed," despite noting some procedural irregularities. Macedonia's election commission reported a turnout of approximately 57% of registered voters for the presidential election, which were held simultaneously with local elections for mayors and municipal councilors. The success of last Sunday's election and the April 5 run-off are seen as crucial to the country’s aspirations to join NATO and the E.U.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonians to vote in election seen as key test

Posted: 03/22/2009
Macedonians vote for a new president Sunday, in a key test of the country's ability to hold fair and violence-free elections less than a year after a parliamentary vote was marred by gunbattles.

Read full story. Source: Europe - International Herald Tribune

Campaigning ends in Macedonia ahead of Sunday's elections

Posted: 03/20/2009
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Campaigning ahead of Sunday's (March 22nd) presidential and local elections wraps up Friday. A total of seven candidates are vyi...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Sunday's elections will test Macedonia

Posted: 03/19/2009
Voters head to the polls Sunday for presidential and local elections. The EU has called the vote a "test" for Macedonia's EU membership bid

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonian parliament approves draft constitutional amendment

Posted: 11/25/2008
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Lawmakers approved a proposed amendment to the article of the constitution Monday (November 24th) that covers presidential elect...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

DUI beats DPA in Macedonian revote

Posted: 06/16/2008
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The ethnic Albanian Union for Integration (DUI) won more votes than its main rival, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), dur...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonia's Re-Run Election Improved from First Poll

Posted: 06/16/2008
OSCE Election Monitors declared that a partial re-run of Macedonia's parliamentary elections were not plagued by the violence that marked the June 1 general elections, but still failed to meet some key international standards. Violence in areas with large ethnic Albanian populations, where Election Day shootings left one person dead and another eight wounded, marred the June 1 snap elections. Fearful that the negative report from the OSCE election monitors might tarnish the country's international reputation and hinder its bid for membership in the European Union, the Macedonian government held a repeat election in the affected precincts on Sunday, June 15th. While the OSCE election observation mission acknowledged that Sunday's election, "showed remarkable improvement," its monitors reported that, "cases of tension and intimidation remained evident." As a result of irregularities during Sunday’s re-vote, Macedonia will re-run elections a second time in four polling stations on June 29th.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia to conduct revote in 193 polling stations

Posted: 06/09/2008
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Saturday (June 7th) that it will conduct a revote on June 15th in the 193 polli...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

OSCE, ODIHR say elections in Macedonia were substandard

Posted: 06/05/2008
Sunday's elections in Macedonia failed to meet international standards, according to the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, which added that violence and intimidation undermined efforts for European integration.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonian opposition leader steps down after election defeat

Posted: 06/05/2008
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) leader Radmila Sekerinska announced on Tuesday (June 3rd) that she is leaving her...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Monitors in Macedonia insist on partial revote

Posted: 06/05/2008
Macedonia's election breached international standards and voting should be repeated in Albanian areas where violence occurred, the monitoring group said Monday.

Read full story. Source: Europe - International Herald Tribune

Macedonian Marred by Violence, Irregularities

Posted: 06/05/2008
Macedonia's ruling conservative party won that country's parliamentary elections last Sunday with 48.3 percent of the vote, enough to give it a majority in the country’s 120-seat parliament. However, the vote, which the OSCE delegation monitoring the elections declared "failed to meet key international standards," was marred by violence in areas with large ethnic Albanian populations, where shootings left one person dead and another eight wounded. The OSCE's international election monitors reported that while the government otherwise administered the elections well, it enforced election rules "selectively" and failed to take measures to prevent the violence that flared on Sunday. Consequently, OSCE monitors observed acts of voter intimidation, ballot box stuffing, and results tampering, and could not rule on the legitimacy of the elections until after a revote takes place in the areas affected by the Election Day violence.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonian poll 'unsatisfactory'

Posted: 06/02/2008
Violence and apparent rigging meant Macedonia's election fell short of international standards, observers say.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | World | UK Edition

Violence Erupts in Macedonian Election

Posted: 06/01/2008
The violence and allegations of fraud marred parliamentary elections, which had been seen as a test of Macedonia�s democratic credentials as it seeks to join the European Union.

Read full story. Source: NYT > Europe

Violence Erupts in Macedonian Election

Posted: 06/01/2008
The violence and allegations of fraud marred parliamentary elections, which had been seen as a test of Macedonia�s democratic credentials as it seeks to join the European Union.

Read full story. Source: NYT > Europe

Macedonia PM wins election in shadow of violence

Posted: 06/01/2008
SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski claimed victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, a vote marred by alleged fraud and shootings that could cloud the country's European Union ambitions.

Read full story. Source: Reuters: International

Macedonia holds crucial elections Sunday

Posted: 05/30/2008
Nikola Gruevski, the incumbent prime minister, is also likely to head Macedonia's next government. Surveys suggest his centre-right party is the front-runner in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

EU condemns campaign-related incidents in Macedonia

Posted: 05/15/2008
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Slovenia, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, on Tuesday (May 13th) condemned several incidents that marred the offici...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Gruevski re-elected as leader of Macedonia's ruling VMRO-DPMNE

Posted: 03/19/2007
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski was re-elected leader of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE at the party congress Sunday (March 18th). He was...

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Radmila Sekerinska is new leader of Macedonia's largest opposition party

Posted: 11/13/2006
The new leader of Macedonia's Social Democrats says she wants to revamp the party's image.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Small party joins Macedonia's ruling coalition

Posted: 11/08/2006

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Sekerinska elected leader of Macedonia's main opposition party

Posted: 11/07/2006

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Buckovski decides not to run for leader of Macedonia's main opposition party

Posted: 10/13/2006

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Ethnic Albanian opposition will boycott Macedonian Parliamentary committees

Posted: 09/06/2006

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Macedonia's new government takes office

Posted: 08/30/2006

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Macedonia gets new government, DUI uses militant rhetoric

Posted: 08/29/2006
As Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski presented plans to boost the economy, his predecessor criticised him for excluding the Democratic Union for Integration from the new government.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

New Macedonian government elected

Posted: 08/28/2006

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New Macedonian government to be presented on Friday

Posted: 08/09/2006

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VMRO-DPMNE wins another parliamentary seat in election rerun

Posted: 07/20/2006

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Macedonia's VMRO-DPMNE urges acting parliament speaker to schedule first session

Posted: 07/17/2006

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Parliamentary Elections Repeated after Irregularities in July 5 Poll

Posted: 07/16/2006
On July 19, Macedonia held rerun elections in 29 districts because of irregularities in the July 5 parliamentary vote. The irregularities included alleged ballot-stuffing and intimidation at the polling sites. The new vote was to decide 4 seats in the parliament. Provisional results of the July 5 election indicated the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party leading with 32.4 percent of the vote and outgoing Prime Minister Vlado BUCKOVSKI's Social Democrats following with 23.3 percent. Final results will be announced when the count of the repeat election is completed.

Source: ElectionGuide

VMRO-DPMNE discusses possible coalition scenarios for Macedonia

Posted: 07/10/2006

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

Macedonia faces period of coalition building

Posted: 07/06/2006
SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia faced a period of coalition building on Thursday following a national election that sank the ruling coalition and assuaged European Union concerns over the country's democratic maturity.

Read full story. Source: Reuters: International

Macedonians vote in key election

Posted: 07/05/2006
Macedonians are voting in the general election that is seen as a key test of the country's EU membership bid.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | World | UK Edition

Incidents mar Macedonian election campaign

Posted: 06/28/2006
Macedonia is under international pressure to show it can conduct elections that are free of irregularities. But the campaign is off to a rocky start, due to a series of recent incidents.

Read full story. Source: SETimes news - English

New incidents mar Macedonia's election campaign

Posted: 06/27/2006

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Macedonian parties submit candidate lists for July elections

Posted: 06/01/2006

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Macedonian ruling coalition member and opposition party form pre-election coalition

Posted: 05/29/2006

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Macedonian Parliament elects state election commission members

Posted: 04/18/2006

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Macedonian Parliament adopts new election code

Posted: 03/31/2006

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Macedonia Announces Referendum Date of November 7

Posted: 09/21/2004
The Macedonian parliament announced a referendum November 7 on a disputed law that has raised ethnic tensions. The announcement came after 180,454 signatures were collected calling for the government to approve a new law that would grant more power to the ethnic Albanian community. If approved, the new law would redraw boundaries within Macedonia and grant authority over certain districts to ethnic Albanians. This authority would allow them greater representation and voice in the government. Supporters of the referendum argue that the law is a crucial step in fulfilling provisions of the 2001 peace agreement, a prerequisite of EU membership. Opponents argue that if the law is approved, it could cause further tensions between Macedonia’s ethnic communities and jeopardize the country’s chances of joining NATO and the EU.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia Announces Results for Presidential Elections

Posted: 05/04/2004
After failing to secure a 50% majority in the April 14 election, candidates Branko CRVENKOVSKI of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and Sashko KEDEV of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) moved to the second round of elections on April 28. According to the results released by the State Election Commission of the Republic of Macedonia, CRVENKOVSKI won the presidency with 62.70% of the valid votes while KEDEV secured the remaining 37.30%. Approximately 53.84% of the country’s 1.7 million voters participated in the presidential elections, fulfilling the 50% voter threshold required to make the polls valid.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia Announces Results for Presidential Elections

Posted: 04/19/2004
Voters were called to the polls to elect a successor to the late President Boris TRAJKOVSKI on April 14. According to results by the State Election Commission, Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) won 42.74% of the votes while Sashko KEDEV of the Internal Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Union (VMRO-DPME) came in second with 34.07% of the votes.  Since none of the candidates secured a majority of the votes , CRVENKOVSKI and KEDEV will contest the second round of elections slated for April 28.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia Announces Presidential Election Date of April 14

Posted: 03/09/2004
An election to replace the late President Boris TRAJKOVSKI  will be held on April 14.  TRAJKOVSKI was killed in an airplane crash on February 26.   Interim president and parliamentary speaker Ljubco Jordanovksi will make the official announcement on Wednesday, March 10.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonian President Killed in a Plane Crash

Posted: 03/02/2004
On February 26, Macedonian President Boris TRAJKOVSKI was killed in a plane crash en route to a conference in Mostar. According to Macedonia's constitution, Macedonia is required to call for elections within 40 days after the demise of the president.  Parliamentary speaker Ljubco JORDANOVSKI was named as acting president.  A panel of legal experts has been formed to determine whether the constitution requires an election within 40 days or whether it merely states that an election date must be set within 40 days. 

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia Announces Preliminary Results of Parliamentary Elections

Posted: 09/16/2002
Based on early reports, the Social Democratic Union (SDSM)  has won a majority in the polls, outpolling  current Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski and his Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Movement (VMRO-DPMNE). Final  election results will be available  later this week.

Source: ElectionGuide

Macedonia Reaches Consensus Regarding Layout of Electoral Ballots

Posted: 08/20/2002
The State Electoral Commission in Macedonia has reached a consensus regarding the layout of its electoral ballots. Combined with various education programs regarding proper voting procedures, the Commission hopes that these will prepare the citizens in electing members for the Macedonian Assembly.

Source: ElectionGuide

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