Skopje, 15 September 2025 (МИА) - Eighteen candidates will run for Skopje mayor in the upcoming local elections if the State Election Commission (SEC) confirms their candidate lists.

The deadline for submission of lists of candidates for mayors and council members in 80 municipalities and the City of Skopje expired on September 13 at midnight. According to the SEC, upon the expiry of the deadline, the municipal election commissions have received 312 lists of mayor candidates and 575 lists of council member candidates. 

The City of Skopje ballot will have the biggest number of lists, with 18 submitted for mayors and 20 for council members.

"According to the schedule for the 2025 local elections, the municipal election commissions submit request to institutions over verifying data on meeting the requirements, immediately after receiving the lists, i.e. by September 14 at the latest. After verifying data on meeting the requirements and completing the process of eliminating any irregularities or omissions in the candidate lists, the municipal election commissions submit the confirmed lists for the State Election Commission to determine the order in a single list of candidates, immediately after confirming the list, i.e. no later than September 20, 2025," said the SEC. 

After completing the process of checking the documentation and meeting the legal requirements, and receiving confirmation by the municipal election commissions, the SEC will publish all confirmed lists by municipalities that will participate in the elections.

The SEC will hold a draw to determine the list of candidates by September 25 at the latest.

The first round of local elections will be held on October 19, 2025, and the second two weeks later, on November 2.

The election campaign will officially begin 20 days before voting day.

Photo: MIA