Skopje, 3 March 2024 (MIA) - SDSM is set to hold a congress on Sunday and confirm the candidacy of incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski for a second term.

The congress will have an open and working part. After the end of the working part, which will be closed for public, media will have the opportunity to follow the address of the presidential candidate, SDSM said in a press release.

On Friday, Pendarovski announced his presidential candidacy, which he dubbed as a "citizens' candidacy", and urged people to sign for it in the State Election Commission (SEC) offices.

His main reason for seeking another five years in office, he said, was that his first term was spotless, "without a single strategic mistake."

"Without a single corruption affair, not a single case of nepotism and conflict of interests related to me, my family, or relatives," Pendarovski told a press conference.

Pendarovski added that, over the past five years, he had also shown that the President could be independent of any centers of political or economic power in the country, including those who backed him in the election.

"There is no person or party in our country that can say it controls me or directs my decisions," the head of state said.

This will be Pendarovski's third presidential campaign. Back in 2014, he lost to former president Gjorge Ivanov, but beat VMRO-DPMNE-backed Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova five years later. He will again face Siljanovska-Davkova, who was overwhelmingly supported by VMRO-DPMNE delegates at the party convention on Saturday.

Pendarovski was the President's National Security Advisor between 2001-2004, SEC chairman (2004-2005), President's Foreign Policy Advisor (2005-2009), university professor, MP (2016-2017), and National NATO Coordinator (2017-2019).

Five other candidates have already collected the citizens' signatures - Maksim Dimitrievski of ZNAM, Bujar Osmani of DUI, Stevcho Jakimovski of GROM, Arben Taravari of opposition alliance "Worth It", and Biljana Vankovska of Levica.

The first round of the presidential elections will take place on April 24, with the runoff slated for May 8, held in parallel with the parliamentary elections.

MIA file photo