By Aleksandar Vasovic
SKOPJE (Reuters) -North Macedonia’s right-wing opposition won big in parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday, on a night that saw the Balkan country also elect its first female head of state.
The head of the ruling Social Democrats (SDSM), Dimitar Kovacevski, conceded defeat after partial results showed the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party way ahead.
“The result is disappointing and this is a big blow to SDSM,” Kovacevski told a news conference in which he also called for a thorough overhaul of his party.
Voters in the Balkan country of 2 million people have become frustrated with the sluggish advance of its bid to join the European Union, which was greeted with optimism in 2005 but has since become an emblem of North Macedonia’s lost promise.
Enduring corruption and slow development have also soured voters against the ruling party.
In the vote for the more ceremonial role of president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor who was backed by the VMRO-DPMNE, beat the SDSM-backed incumbent Stevo Pendarovski in a landslide.
“I was asking myself why did I deserve such a honour?” Siljanovska-Davkova told reporters. “The reward is priceless for me, this is a huge responsibility.”
Hundreds of VMRO-DPMNE supporters milled around their party headquarters in downtown Skopje waving national and party flags and dancing to Macedonian folk music that blared from loudspeakers.
“The ruling elites have been defeated by the people. It’s time for a new chapter,” Timco Mucunski, the vice president of the VMRO-DPMNE, said in a TV broadcast.
VMRO-DPMNE held 42% of votes with 72% of votes counted, the election commission results showed. SDSM had 14%. The opposition will likely need to form coalitions with smaller partners to win a majority in parliament.
Still, analysts do not expect great advances on EU integration under the opposition, which held power until 2017 and also came under fire for alleged graft.
“EU accession will not progress significantly under a potential VMRO-DPMNE government,” said Mario Bikarski, Eastern and Central European analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.
(Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Tetovo; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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