News / EU

Macedonians vote in snap parliamentary elections

Sunday, 11 December 2016 6:26 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 11 December 2016 6:27 AM ]

A billboard bearing a picture of veteran ruler Nikola Gruevski of the VMRO-DPMNE Party in Skopje on December 10, 2016, on the eve of the parliamentary polls. (Photo by AFP)

People in Macedonia have started casting their ballots in snap parliamentary elections.

Sunday's vote is part of a deal among Macedonia’s four major parties: the governing conservatives, the left-wing main opposition and two minor ones representing the ethnic Albanian community.

The election is an attempt to end a political crisis that has gripped the Balkan country since 2015.

The vote was postponed twice, in April and June.

A key candidate is former prime minister Nikola Gruvski who stepped down in January 2016 in the wake of major anti-government protests. He was at the helm of the center-right VMRO-DPMNE party that has governed the former Yugoslav republic as the major party in various coalitions for almost a decade. Gruvski is now seeking a return to power.

The resignation of the nationalist leader occurred as part of an EU-brokered deal that put a caretaker government in place. The plan was to resolve one of the worst political crises since Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

The opposition Social Democrats (SDSM), led by Zoran Zaev, has been accusing the government of corruption and large-scale wiretapping of thousands of people, including journalists and religious officials. SDSM includes several smaller parties, some representing the large ethnic Albanian minority.

However, the government has rejected all such claims, accusing the opposition of plotting a coup instead.

There are nearly 1.8 million registered voters, and 123 seats in the parliament are up for grabs. Each of the four parties has put forward a list of 20 candidates in each of the six electoral districts.

Pre-election opinion polls showed that the VMRO-DPMNE may be in the lead. Also, up to one third of voters were said to be undecided.

"This election is one of the most unpredictable to take place in Macedonia," Zaneta Trajkoska, director at the Institute of Communication Studies, told AFP.

"Whoever wins the election will have huge challenges and issues to solve."

The first indications from the electoral committee will be revealed on Monday and the final results will be out on Tuesday.

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