North Macedonia votes in elections crucial for EU accession

North Macedonia will head to the polls on Wednesday in parliamentary and presidential elections in which the rightist opposition is expected to gain ground against a ruling party that has failed to progress talks to join the EU and stamp out corruption, Report informs via Reuters.

No polls have been published ahead of the vote, but a stronger-than-expected showing from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party in the first round of presidential elections last month suggest that voters are frustrated with the ruling Social Democrats.

A resurgent right could further slow EU accession talks and complicate relations with neighbouring EU members Greece and Bulgaria, analysts said.

Wednesday's vote includes a run-off for the more ceremonial presidency, and for parliamentary seats. Polls open at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m.(1700 GMT). The state election commission is expected to start announcing results from 3,360 polling stations later on Wednesday.

"I believe that on Wednesday we will have a convincing double victory," VMRO-DPMNE head Hristijan Mickoski told reporters this week.

In 2001 NATO pulled North Macedonia back from the brink of civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency and promised faster integration into the EU and NATO.

The country of 1.83 million joined NATO in 2020 but it has made little progress with the EU, in part because of opposition from EU members Greece and Bulgaria.

A 2017 agreement to change the country's name from Macedonia to North Macedonia ended the dispute with Greece, but Bulgaria lodged a veto in 2020 over history and language issues, which many North Macedonians say attacks their national identity.

The Ljubljana-based International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) said that a VMRO-DPMNE victory could complicate further EU talks, given their opposition to the Greece agreement.

"The cancellation of already signed and ratified international agreements and obligations and (their) renegotiation would mean the loss of another 20 or 30 years ... and giving up the country's Euro-Atlantic path," IFIMES said.