Elections in Macedonia – Results

Zoran Zaev has resigned from his position as Prime Minister, after his party, the Social Democratic Union, was defeated in the recent local elections.

He has stated that he is going to support a new leader from his party to take the helm of government, instead of calling early elections.

iStockphoto.com/Martinns

In Skopje, Daniela Arsovska won with a 55.85% of the vote, while the incumbent mayor Petre Sigelov won only 40%. Arsovska is one of more than a 100 000 Macedonian citizens, who have Bulgarian citizenship, which evoked a targeted campaign by Zoran Zaev, aiming to denigrate her. Discrimination against ethnic Bulgarians is still rampant in Macedonia, just how it was during Yugoslav times. Zaev expected Arsovska to withdraw from the elections, due to her ethnic origins, which she refused to do, subsequently winning by a landslide. The Bulgarian Ministry of Interior has confirmed that Arsovska and her husband are citizens of Bulgaria.

This was the main catalyst, which lead to the resignation of Zaev. This could completely disrupt the ruling coalition government, leading to a new coalition forming, or to snap elections.

Things might finally be moving towards solving the array of issues between Bulgaria and Macedonia.

iStockphoto.com/Oleksandr Filon