North Macedonia elects first woman president as center-left incumbents suffer historic losses

(8 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Skopje, North Macedonia - 08 May 2024
1. Presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova greeting party supporters
2. Wide of Davkova at podium for press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (Macedonian) Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, winning presidential candidate:
“I will behave as a president for all the citizens, this means for all the ethnic groups, members of all parties, those who aren’t members of any party. No president can call for unity, especially not a woman, if it holds a party line. That is why the doors to my offices are open for everyone.”
4. Pan of media gathered at press conference
5. Mid of Davkova greeting supporters

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Skopje, North Macedonia - 08 May 2024
6. Presidential canidate Stevo Pendarovski entering for press conference
7. SOUNDBITE (Macedonian) Stevo Pendarovski , outgoing president:
“The results are clear and my intention is not to try to discuss the results. From what I saw until now, I want to congratulate the winners and to wish successful work in the upcomingvfour to five years.”
8. Various of celebration in front of the winning party VMRO-DPMNE
STORYLINE:
North Macedonia elected its first woman president Wednesday as the governing Social Democrats suffered historic losses in twin presidential and parliamentary elections.

Conservative-backed Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a 70-year-old law professor, was declared the winner after receiving nearly 65% support with more than two-thirds of the vote counted in a presidential runoff.

“Is there a bigger change than electing a woman as president?" Siljanovska-Davkova told party supporters. “I will stand with women in taking this great step forward, a step towards reform.”

Incumbent Stevo Pendarovski conceded after garnering just over 29% of the vote. Siljanovska-Davkova was backed by the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, which made sweeping gains on popular discontent over the country’s slow path toward European Union membership and its sluggish economy. A coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE was ahead with nearly 43% in the parliamentary election, while the Social Democrat-led coalition that has held power for the least seven years struggled to hold onto second place with 14.8.% – just ahead of a group of parties led by the ethnic Albanian minority party DUI.

Celebrations in the capital Skopje were muted by a thunderstorm that caused power outages. The conservative landslide win is likely to be followed by complex power sharing talks for the control of the 120-seat parliament. But Social Democrat leader Dimitar Kovachevski, who served as prime minister from 2022 until early this year, conceded his party's defeat late Wednesday in the parliamentary election and announced that he would stand down after a new leader is selected by the party.

Victory for Siljanovska-Davkova makes her the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial post of president since the country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The monthlong campaign focused on North Macedonia’s slow progress toward joining the 27-nation EU, the rule of law, corruption, fighting poverty and tackling the country’s flat economic growth.

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski headed a 22-party coalition called “Your Macedonia” that accused opponents of ineptitude and making humiliating compromises in trying to settle disputes with North Macedonia's neighbors.

Video by Florent Barjami, Sylejman Kllokoqi

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