EU hopeful North Macedonia to hold May 8 presidential runoff with center-right candidate in the lead

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES
Associated Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia faces a runoff presidential ballot, which will coincide with May 8 parliamentary elections. That’s because no candidate secured enough votes to win outright in Wednesday’s first round. Near-full results in the country that is jockeying to join the European Union show a strong shift in favor of the candidate backed by the center-right main opposition coalition, VMRO-DPMNE. With about 92% of the votes counted, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova is well ahead with almost 40%. Incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, who is seeking a second five-year term with support from the country’s governing social democrats, has nearly 20%, according to the State Electoral Commission.