General elections were held in the
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
in April 2014 to elect the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
members of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. The first round of the presidential elections were held on 13 April, with incumbent president
Gjorge Ivanov
Gjorge Ivanov ( mk, Ѓорге Иванов, ; born 2 May 1960) is a Macedonian politician, who served as the 4th President of North Macedonia from 2009 to 2019.
Early and personal life
Born at Valandovo, Ivanov finished primary and secondary sch ...
finishing first with 53% of the vote. However, as he did not receive the support of 50% of all registered voters, a second round was held on 27 April, alongside parliamentary elections, with Ivanov and the ruling coalition led by
VMRO-DPMNE
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...
claiming victory as Ivanov was elected president and the VMRO-DPMNE won 61 of the 123 seats in the
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
.
Background
The parliamentary elections were brought forward to coincide with the president elections following VMRO-DPMNE and DUI's failure to agree on a combined presidential candidate.
President
Candidates
The incumbent president Gjorge Ivanov, supported by the governing party, the
(VMRO-DPMNE), successfully nominated himself for reelection after collecting 63,253 signatures from Macedonian citizens. The
Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија – СДСМ, ''Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija'' – SDSM, sq, Lidhja socialdemokrate e Maqedonisë – LSDM) is a ...
candidate
Stevo Pendarovski
Stevo Pendarovski ( mk, Стево Пендаровски, ; born 3 April 1963) is a Macedonian politician who serves as the 5th and current President of North Macedonia since 12 May 2019.
Early life and education
Stevo Pendarovski was born o ...
was nominated by the signatures of the opposition parties' members of parliament. Other candidates nominated by over 10,000 signatures included
Zoran T. Popovski from the
Citizen Option for Macedonia
The Citizen Option for Macedonia ( mk, Граѓанска опција за Македонија-ГРОМ, ''Gragjanska оpcija za Makedonija'', GROM (lit. "Thunder")) is a political party in North Macedonia led by Stevčo Jakimovski, mayor of ...
, and
Ilijaz Halimi from the
Democratic Party of Albanians
The Democratic Party of Albanians ( sq, Partia Demokratike Shqiptare; mk, Демократска партија на Албанците, ''Demokratska Partija na Albancite'') or DPA is a political party of ethnic Albanians in North Macedonia. ...
.
Campaign
The first round of the presidential election was held on 13 April. The candidates were Gjorge Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE), Stevo Pendarovski (SDSM), Ilijaz Halimi (DPA), and Zoran Popovski (GROM). The
ethnic Albanian
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbi ...
party
Democratic Union for Integration
The Democratic Union for Integration ( mk, Демократска унија за интеграција, ДУИ, Demokratska unija za integracija, DUI, al, Bashkimi Demokratik për Integrim, BDI) is the largest ethnic Albanian political party ...
, a junior coalition member, campaigned for boycott of the presidential election, opposing VMRO-DPMNE's decision to run Ivanov for reelection.
SDSM's Pendarovski controversially visited
Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
where he criticised the government policies in terms of
foreign policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
and that Albania has the highest GDP in the region despite reports by institutions and other politicians saying it was Macedonia.
Parliament
Parties and coalitions
Fourteen political parties and coalitions contested the election, having submitted candidate lists for MPs in at least one of the six constituencies within the country and the three in the diaspora. Three among them, namely, VMRO-DPMNE, SDSM and DUI, submitted their candidate lists in all nine constituencies.
VMRO-DPMNE
The VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition consisted of 22 parties: VMRO-DPMNE, the
Socialist Party of Macedonia
The Socialist Party of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка партија на Македонија, ''Socijalistička Partija na Makedonija'', SPM) is a political party in North Macedonia founded on 22 September 1990 as a successor to t ...
, the
Democratic Union,
Democratic Renewal of Macedonia
The Democratic Renewal of Macedonia ( mk, Демократска обнова на Македонија, ''Demokratska obnova na Makedonija'') is a green-liberal political party in North Macedonia. This party actively promotes the green idea f ...
, the
Democratic Party of Turks
The Turkish Democratic Party ( mk, Демократска партија на Турците, ''Demokratska partija na Turcite''; tr, Türk Demokratik Partisi) is a political party of the Turkish minority in North Macedonia.
In the 2002 parliam ...
, the
Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia
The Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia (DPSM; sr, Демократска партија Срба у Македонији, ''Demokratska partija Srba u Makedoniji''; mk, Демократска партија на Србите во Макед� ...
, the
Union of Roma in Macedonia
The Union of Roma in Macedonia ( mk, Сојуз на Ромите од Македонија, ''Sojuz na Romite na Makedonija'') is a political party in North Macedonia supporting the rights of the Romani people in the country.
At the 2006 legi ...
, the United Party for Emancipation, the Party of Justice, the Party of the Democratic Action of Macedonia, the
Party of the Vlachs of Macedonia
The Party of the Vlachs of Macedonia (PVM; mk, Партија на Власите од Македонија, ; rup, Partia Armãnjilor ditu Machidunie, ), sometimes simply referred to as the Party of the Vlachs or the Vlach Party ( mk, Пар� ...
, the Party for Integration of the Roma, the Bosniak Democratic Party, Democratic Forces
of the Roma, Permanent Macedonian Radical Unification, the New Liberal Party, the People's Movement for Macedonia, VMRO–Democratic Party, VMRO-United, Fatherland's Macedonian Organisation for Radical Renewal–Vardar–Aegean–Pirin , Macedonian Alliance, and .
[
]
SDSM
The SDSM-led coalition included nine parties; the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија – СДСМ, ''Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija'' – SDSM, sq, Lidhja socialdemokrate e Maqedonisë – LSDM) is a ...
, the New Social Democratic Party
The New Social Democratic Party ( mk, Нова социјалдемократска Партија, ''Nova socijaldemokratska partija'', NSDP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in North Macedonia. Its leader is Tito Petkovski, ...
, the Liberal Democratic Party, United for Macedonia, the Party for the Movement of Turks in Macedonia
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
, the , the Serbian Party in Macedonia, the Democratic Union of the Vlachs of Macedonia
The Democratic Union of the Vlachs of Macedonia (DSVM; mk, Демократски сојуз на Власите од Македонија, ; rup, Unia Democratã a Armãnjlor dit Machidunii, ) is one of the two political parties of North Mace ...
, and the Sandžak List.[
]
GROM
The Citizen Option for Macedonia
The Citizen Option for Macedonia ( mk, Граѓанска опција за Македонија-ГРОМ, ''Gragjanska оpcija za Makedonija'', GROM (lit. "Thunder")) is a political party in North Macedonia led by Stevčo Jakimovski, mayor of ...
(GROM)-led alliance consisted of the Citizen Option for Macedonia
The Citizen Option for Macedonia ( mk, Граѓанска опција за Македонија-ГРОМ, ''Gragjanska оpcija za Makedonija'', GROM (lit. "Thunder")) is a political party in North Macedonia led by Stevčo Jakimovski, mayor of ...
, the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, the Serbian Progressive Party in Macedonia
The Serbian Progressive Party in Macedonia ( sr, Српска напредна странка у Македонији, Srpska napredna stranka u Makedoniji, mk, Српска напредна странка во Македонија, Srpska napre ...
, the Union of Tito's Left Forces
The Union of Tito's Left Forces ( mk, Сојуз на Титови леви сили, ''Sojuz na Titovi levi sili'') is a communist party in North Macedonia. The party follows the ideology of Titoism and its leader is Slobodan Ugrinovski.
Referen ...
, and the Party of Free
Democrats.[ The Republic of Macedonia's 2014 Parliamentary Elections Handbook]
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Campaign
SDSM's Zoran Zaev
Zoran Zaev ( mk, Зоран Заев, ; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.
Prior to entering ...
said that the election was about "choosing whether acedonianswill support the fight for freedom and the right to a better life, or continue with state robbery." Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said: "We need a majority so nobody can blackmail us and we can keep up with the programme...that would lead Macedonia into the EU and NATO."
Opinion polls
President
Parliament
Conduct
The second round of the election had accreditations given to 9,952 domestic and 550 foreign observers, as well as 283 translators, according to the State Election Commission.
The United States and European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
publicly urged political leaders to ensure the election was "credible and transparent," amidst complains by the SDSM.
Results
President
In second round voting, centres were open from 5:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT. Turnout was reported as 9.58% in the first three hours. Gjorge Ivanov was re-elected with 57% of the valid vote. Following the election, Stevo Pendarovski called for an investigation of the election by external observers.
Parliament
The incumbent government, led by VMRO-DPMNE, won 42.98% of the votes to claim victory ahead of SDSM with 25.34% and DUI with 13.71%. The 123 seats in the Assembly were won by six political parties and coalitions with VMRO-DPMNE winning 61 seats, SDSM winning 34 seats, DUI winning 19 seats, DPA winning 7 seats and GROM and NDP winning 1 seat each.
Reactions
After voting ended the SDSM's Zoran Zaev said that "SDSM and our opposition coalition will not recognise the election process, neither the presidential nor the parliamentary." He accused the government of "abusing the entire state system." It followed reports that Gruevski had warned that the SDSM was preparing, as an alibi, to react in such a manner to the election because they were due to lose the election.
Notes
* The term "general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
s" is used to refer to the presidential and parliamentary elections that were, incidentally, held on the same date since the Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
has a parliamentary system in which both elections are held separately.
References
{{Macedonian elections
Elections in North Macedonia
Macedonia
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
Presidential elections in North Macedonia
April 2014 events in Europe