Politics of the Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia's main opposition leader cried foul over local election results after gains for the ruling party in a second round of polls on Sunday, and demanded a snap parliamentary vote, reported Reuters. 

Macedonia's SDSM, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, confirmed its widespread support, winning 18 of the 35 municipalities in which voting took place Sunday. The first round already suggested widespread support on October 15 (SDSM won 39), which together with Sunday's vote means that in total the party now controls at least 57 out of Macedonia's 81 municipalities.

The prosecution confirmed on Wednesday that it is taking seriously allegations made by the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party and its leader Nikola Gruevski of wiretapping and election fraud place during the ongoing local election process.

"Actions are being taken which are currently at a pre-investigation phase," the prosecution told 24 Vesti TV in a statement.

The new government alliance between the Social Democratic Union and ethnic Albanian political parties in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) clinched a landslide majority in last Sunday's local elections, and especially in the capital, Skopje, which has a single municipal unit of around 800,000 citizens.

Ruling party MPs, legal experts and political observers have condemned an opposition demand for all those involved in the April 27 storming of parliament which left some 100, including MPs, injured, to receive an amnesty.

After three months in hiding, Greek police have arrested two former FYROM secret policemen, Goran Grujevski and Nikola Boskoski, wanted in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for their alleged involvement in the country’s illegal wiretapping scandal.

The two men were arrested in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on Wednesday under a warrant issued by FYROM.

FYROM's (Macedonia) ruling Social Democrats (SDSM) have won a sweeping victory in the first round of local elections and delivered a severe blow to the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party that ruled much of the country for more than a decade.

The right-wing VMRO DPMNE party of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in elections for 81 mayors and municipal councils, completely losing its former dominant position in local government.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's party successfully passed its first serious test on Sunday, winning the local elections in the country, reports Mediapool. 

Macedonia's ruling Social Democrats, SDSM, celebrated a convincing victory Sunday night during the first round of local elections, widely regarded as a key test of the new government's popularity.