Macedonian presidential election

Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month's first round.

Ethnic Albanians could play a key role in deciding who wins the North Macedonia presidential poll run-off on May 5, but the first round of the elections showed that no party can claim to control their votes.

Macedonia votes Sunday for a new President and Parliament in a double election.

Around 1.8 million eligible voters are to cast ballots at over 3500 polling stations across the country.

Election Day started at 7 am local time and is to end at 7pm, with preliminary results due late on Sunday, according to reports of Al Jazeera.

Incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov, from the ruling VMRO DPMNE party, has declared victory at Macedonia's presidential elections.

Ivanov is however not the outright winner, because although he received 51.65% of the votes, the low turnout means he gathered support from barely one-fourth of the population.

Preliminary results from Sunday’s presidential election in Macedonia suggest that Ivanov, who is running for a second five-year term for the ruling VMRO DPMNE party, is leading the count, ahead of his main rival, Stevo Pendarovski who is running for the opposition Social Democrats.

The State Electoral Commission, said that 95 per cent of the votes have been counted so  far.

Macedonians are going to the polls on Sunday in the fifth presidential elections for the country.

Campaigning for the presidential election will halt in Macedonia ahead of Sunday, when more than 1.7 million registered voters will choose between four candidates.

Voters will choose between incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov who is running for a second five-year term for the ruling VMRO DPMNE party and three other hopefuls.

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.