(8 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Skopje, North Macedonia – 08 May 2024
1. Various of presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski entering the polling station
2. Various of Pendarovski voting
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stevo Pendarovski, Presidential Candidate from SDSM ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++:
“I believe that the election day has been transparent and calm. I suppose that it will continue that way by the end of the electoral day, that means by 7 pm. There is other no reason to believe that there are going to be some big disturbances, because we are for three and a half decades almost in democracy and obviously we have learned some democratic lessons in the meantime. If you are asking me about the eventual turnout of 40%, I think that despite all the obstructions which are already in place and visible in some parts of the country, I think that we are going to reach that 40% of threshold and we will have the credible winner at the end of the day.”
4. Various of presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova voting
5. Mid of voting box
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, Presidential Candidate from VMRO-DPMNE party:
“What I expect is to win the elections, to win the elections and even to get a better result, that’s obvious, that’s obvious. I expect votes from opposition, because it is so normal in political science the opposition to support opposition. I expect also additional votes from those neutral citizens or voters, those who are not members of the parties, who are not devoted to some parties, especially from women, because this will be something totally new. I am ashamed that after 30 years we have a chance to have a woman for president and my question is why it is so? Why to tolerate this macho world?”
7. Pan from camera to Siljanovska Davkova addressing the media
STORYLINE:
Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a presidential runoff and a parliamentary election dominated by issues including the country’s path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy.
The first round of the election for president, a largely ceremonial post, was seen as a barometer for the parliamentary vote.
It gave a clear lead to Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the candidate backed by the center-right opposition, over incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, who is supported by the governing center-left coalition.
Siljanovska-Davkova garnered 41.2%, in the first round on April 24, compared to 20.5% for Pendarovski.
The two had also squared off in the previous election in 2019, when Pendarovski won with nearly 54% of the vote.
Turnout in the runoff must be at least 40% for the result to be valid.
In the parliamentary election, more than 1,700 candidates are vying for the 120 seats in the unicameral assembly. There are also three seats reserved for expatriates, but in the previous election in 2020, turnout was too low for them to be filled.
The monthlong campaign focused on North Macedonia’s progress toward joining the 27-nation EU, the rule of law, corruption, fighting poverty and tackling the country’s sluggish economy.
North Macedonia has been a candidate to join the EU since 2005, but was blocked for years by neighboring Greece in a dispute over the country’s name.
That was resolved in 2018, but Bulgaria is now the one blocking the process — it has said it will only lift its veto once the constitution is amended.
AP Video shot by Florent Bajrami and Sylejman Kllokoqi
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