Skopje, 19 October 2025 (MIA) - Sunday's local elections are the eighth since the country's independence, following the ones in 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021, and the fourth since the local self-government has been organized in 80 municipalities and the City of Skopje.

The 2025 local elections will include 309 mayor candidates, or 10 more compared to the 2021 vote, but way down from the record 683 candidates at the inaugural local elections in 1996.

Skopje has the most candidates for mayors - 16 in total - of whom only one woman. Prilep and Struga follow with nine candidates each, while Bitola has eight. There are 21 municipalities with only two candidates for the post.

In gender terms, 89.64 percent of the mayor candidaters are men, while 10.35 percent are women, a slight increase from 2021, when only eight percent of candidates were women.

Regarding the lists of candidates for council members, the number stands at 576, similar to the 2021 vote - 572, but down from the 1996 elections - 747.

The lists include 10,490 candidates, of whom 55 percent are men and 45 percent are women.

The City of Skopje will see the highest number of candidate lists - 19, followed by Bitola - 16, Kumanovo and Dolneni - 14 each.

Regarding the age of candidates, the 36-45 age group is the largest at 25.36 percent.

Photo: MIA