Presidential Race Is Focus of Macedonia's National Elections
By VOA News
22 March 2009
Macedonians voted Sunday for a new president in an election seen as crucial to their hopes of joining NATO and the European Union. There were no reports of the violence that disrupted last year's parliamentary ballot.
Security was tight, with hundreds of police on patrol and thousands of monitors observing the election across the Balkan nation.
Seven candidates were seeking the presidency. Pre-election surveys showed voters favoring Gjorgje Ivanov, from Macedonia's largest party (VMRO-DPNME). Analysts say no one is expected to win outright victory in the first round of voting, and a runoff is expected on April 5. Final results are expected Monday.
Heavy snows in western Macedonia kept some polling stations closed Sunday, but authorities say less than one percent of the electorate was affected.
The vote in western Macedonia will be rescheduled, probably for April 5.
Former Interior Minister Ljubomir Frckoski of the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia was running second to Ivanov in pre-election polls, with ethnic-Albanian candidate Imer Selmani running third. Outgoing President Branko Crvenkovski did not seek a second term.
Macedonians also were choosing mayors and city council members on Sunday.
Several hours before polls closed at 8 p.m. local /1900 UTC Sunday evening, election officials said just over 26 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots.
Last year, fraud and gunfights between rival ethnic-Albanian parties marred the country's parliamentary elections. One person died and several others were wounded in the violence, the worst since an ethnic uprising in 2001. The scale of the violence prompted the European Union to warn that a repeat of such disorders would endanger Macedonia's chances for early EU membership.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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