Skopje, 10 May 2024 (MIA) - The deadlines for complaints regarding the presidential and parliamentary elections expire at 7 pm and 11:30 pm on Friday. By 7 pm on Friday, State Election Commission (SEC) is expected to deliver a report on the results of the presidential elections to Parliament, after which Speaker Jovan Mitreski is expected to schedule for Sunday (May 12) the inauguration of the country’s newly elected President, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

At a session Thursday, the State Election Commission published the preliminary and official results of the presidential and parliamentary elections, with 100% of votes counted. At the presidential elections, VMRO-DPMNE's candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova won 561.001 votes, while SDSM’s candidate Stevo Pendarovski won 251.881.

According to the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections, VMRO-DPMNE's “Your Macedonia” coalition won the most seats at the elections – 58, followed by DUI’s “European Front” coalition with 19 seats, SDSM’s “Coalition for European Future” won 18, “Worth It” coalition – 13, Levica – 6, ZNAM Movement – 6.

North Macedonia’s presidential run-off and parliamentary elections were competitive and an extensive and pluralistic campaign helped voters to make an informed choice, but marred by negative rhetoric with nationalistic slogans, as well as shortcomings in the legislation and insufficient oversight of campaign finances, international observers said in a statement on Thursday.

The elections took place against a background of voter dissatisfaction with the political establishment, and a general sense that both the government and opposition lacked the will to address long-standing calls for comprehensive reforms. The joint observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the European Parliament (EP) found that while the legal framework creates the basis for democratic elections, many gaps and inconsistencies remain, making further reform essential.

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski told a Kanal 5 TV interview on Thursday he expects the new Parliament to be constituted by May 28, adding that there is a possibility that VMRO-DPMNE and its coalition could “consolidate” 61 MPs by then.

“There are already hints from the new MPs who are planning to support the new government. As the party’s leader, I expect to consolidate 61 MPs by May 28,” Mickoski said, adding that it would be difficult to have a repeat of VMRO-DPMNE's “historic” result in future elections.

He reiterated that the “Worth It” coalition would be their main coalition partner. The VMRO-DPMNE leader described the coalition as a “true representative of the Albanian community” in the country, adding that all who respect VMRO-DPMNE's election manifesto will be welcome in the future government.

The VMRO-DPMNE leader said he would hold a meeting Friday with their partners from the “Your Macedonia” coalition, during which they will hear their positions and proposals regarding the future government.

“Informal communication already exists with ‘Worth It’ as a potential coalition partner, but first we need to have meetings with the ‘Your Macedonia’ coalition, and select people that will negotiate, who will then also have to be approved by the party’s bodies,” Mickoski said and added he wouldn’t like to lead the negotiations for a government coalition “under pressure and with ultimatums, but through dialogue and arguments”.

Tetovo municipality mayor and Besa Movement president, a member of the “Worth It” coalition, Biljal Kasami, expects talks for new government formation to commence on Monday.

"By the end of this week, we need to have our working groups in place. If not, over the weekend and likely starting Monday, we'll kick off the formalization of meetings and coordination of activities regarding government formation. Personnel issues will naturally be addressed in the second phase of talks. The crucial point is that this coalition will remain committed to ensuring the country's EU integration and safeguarding the rights of Albanians. The elections have granted us the mandate to represent and make decisions in the best interest of all citizens and the state's path towards European integration," Kasami stated on Thursday.

After the official election results, a parliamentary session on the inauguration of the newly elected President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova should be convened on May 12 at the latest. Before taking up office, she is to make a solemn declaration before the Assembly of her commitment to respect the Constitution and the laws. The term of the incumbent President, who ran for a second term, Stevo Pendarovski, expires on May 12.

The mandate of the new parliamentary composition that was elected in Wednesday's parliamentary elections starts with the constitutive session of the Assembly. According to the Constitution, each newly-elected Assembly must hold a constitutive meeting 20 days at the latest after the election was held. The constitutive meeting is called by the President of the Assembly of the previous term.

The head of state is obligated, within ten days of the constitution of the Assembly, to entrust the mandate for the formation of the Government to a candidate of the party or parties that have a majority in Parliament. The mandate holder, within 20 days from the day of receiving the mandate, submits a program to the Assembly and proposes the composition of the Government. The Government, upon the proposal of the mandate holder and based on the program, is elected by the Assembly with a majority of votes from the total number of MPs.

Until the election of the new government composition, the mandate of the caretaker government continues, which commenced 100 days before the elections, according to the so-called Przino Agreement, aimed at overcoming the political crisis of 2015. The function of the caretaker government was to ensure fair and democratic elections.

Photo: MIA archive