Deadline For Macedonian Election Candidates Expires

So far, only Macedonia's opposition parties have disclosed all the names of their front runners that will lead their party lists in each of the six electoral districts. The ruling centre-right VMRO-DPMNE party has kept most of its top names secret.

One exception is the head of VMRO-DPMNE, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who is certain to run in the first district in the capital, Skopje, the main battleground with the Social Democrat-led opposition in the election. 

Gruevski's challenger in the first district is Radmila Shekerinska, the Social Democrats' would-be Prime Minister.

Significantly, the name of the leader of the Social Democrats, Branko Crvenkovski, does not appear on his party's lists. However, the party has reiterated that he remains at the helm of the campaign.

Each of the six electoral districts contributes 20 legislators to the assembly. Diaspora voters, who will be voting for the first time in these polls, will elect three legislators.

The third district is seen as the main testing ground between the right-wing parties. VMRO-DPMNE considers this region, covering most of central and eastern Macedonia, its bastion.

But this time round the party faces a contest with several smaller rightist opposition parties, formed by former VMRO-DPMNE members who have quit.

United for Macedonia, a party led by former police minister Ljube Boskoski, is one. Another is VMRO-Peoples’s Party, whose honorary head is the former prime minister and former VMRO-DPMNE leader, Ljubco Georgievski.

A third option is the party of Democratic Rightists, led by former VMRO-DPMNE legislator Filip Petrovski. A fourth is Dignity, a party formed by former security force staffers.

The main battle in the ethnic Albanian camp will be waged in the sixth district, which covers the mainly Albanian towns of Tetovo and Gostivar in the west and northwest. Albanians make up about a quarter of Macedonia’s 2.1 million population.

The junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, hopes to preserve its dominance in the Albanian bloc over the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, which counts on winning in Tetovo. The newly formed Democratic Rebirth Party of Rufi Osmani is pinning its hopes of victory on Gostivar. Imer Selmani, of the New Democracy party, is also counting on a good result in this district. 

The election campaign officially starts on May 15. The parties will then have 20 days to present their platforms before the voting takes place.