Gjorge Ivanov

The DIK has ruled that Ivanov broke the electoral code when he published a report on his presidential work on March 14, ten days before the start of the presidential election campaign on March 24.

Apart from starting his campaign too early, the head of the DIK, Nikola Rilkoski, said Ivanov had misused his office by using state money to finance publication of his report.

Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has launched a campaign for a new presidential election model in Macedonia.

The campaign slogan, “No to a One-sided President”, advocates scrapping direct elections for the post of President - and the main Albanian and Macedonian parties in parliament agreeing on a consensus candidate.

The candidate of the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party, incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov, launches his campaign with a rally in the town of Ohrid, the party’s traditional election launch venue.

Ivanov, who is competing for a secound five-year term in office, is running under the election slogan “The State Above All”, positioning himself as a proven defender of the country's interests.

A group of more than 50 prominent politicians, clerics, doctors, athletes and artists has urged the centre-right VMRO DPMNE to again endorse the candidacy of Gjorge Ivanov in the April elections.

The petition increases the likelihood that the incumbent President will run for a second five-year term.

Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos - whose country holds the EU presidency - said he felt more optimistic on the “name” dispute after meeting Macedonian leaders on Thursday.

The Greek visit, taking place within the capacity of Greece’s EU presidency, is not expected to result in a breakthrough in the "name" dispute that has been poisoning relations for decades and blocking Macedonia’s EU and NATO integration.