Macedonia Opposition Names Shekerinska PM Candidate
Macedonia's main opposition Social Democrats have chosen Radmila Shekerinska as the party's candidate for prime minister, as the country prepares for June 5 elections.
Party leader Branko Crvenkovski made the announcement late on Wednesday at a celebration of the party’s 20th anniversary.
“Shekerinska is a synonym for Macedonia's EU integration, a person that enjoys the respect of both Brussels and Washington,” Crvenkovski said, reiterating that he would not be part of a government led by the Social Democrats, if the party wins the snap polls.
Shekerinska is a party veteran and during her term in office as deputy prime minister in charge of European affairs, Macedonia gained the status of EU candidate country in 2005.
Shekerinska said she would work to “turn Macedonia into a prosperous country” if her party wins the upcoming polls.
Shekerinska's name had been floated around in recent weeks as one of two top opposition candidates after Crvenkovski indicated that he would not run for the prime minister's seat. The other possible candidate was Zoran Zaev, a high-ranking Social Democrat who is currently the mayor of Strumica.
Crvenkovski, meanwhile, says he will remain at the helm of the opposition and will lead the party through the polls.
The Social Democrats hope to defeat the ruling VMRO DPMNE of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, which it accuses of curbing democratic freedom, ruining the economy and deliberately keeping the country at an arms length from NATO and the EU.
Macedonia's ruling party has not yet chosen its candidate, but analysts expect current Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to stand again.
Shekerinska briefly led the Social Democrats during the 2008 early elections, when the party suffered a devastating loss to the VMRO DPMNE.
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Macedonia Finds the Centre Ground Just in Time
After two decades of independence, and just weeks before the June 5 elections, Macedonia has finally located its pivotal point.
Election Background
Macedonia Elections Profile
On June 5 Macedonians will vote for 123 legislators in six electoral districts. Three of the legislators will be elected from the diaspora, which is allowed to vote for the first time. More than 1.7 million people are eligible to vote.
Macedonia 2011 Elections Interactive Map
1,821,122 million people out of some 2.2 million Macedonians are eligible to vote in the June 5 general election. The clickable map shows the top candidates for the Macedonia 2011 early elections by electoral region.
Past Election Results in Macedonia
During the country’s 20 years of post-independence history past elections were often marred by significant controversies and allegations of fraud. As the June elections approach, doubt remains whether the friction between the two parties will allow for polls that meet international standards.
Key political Parties in Macedonia
The main political players are divided into two ethnic blocs. Macedonians traditionally choose the party that forms the government. The Albanian camp produces its own champion, which is then usualy asked to join the government as a junior partner.
