![N. Macedonia votes in crucial elections for stalled EU talks](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/a7/79/43/N--Macedonia-votes-in-crucial-elect-133117.jpg)
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese foreign minister in Laos
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
![N. Macedonia votes in crucial elections for stalled EU talks](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/a7/79/43/N--Macedonia-votes-in-crucial-elect-133117.jpg)
N. Macedonia votes in crucial elections for stalled EU talks
North Macedonia heads to the polls Wednesday for the first in a series of elections that could decide whether the diverse Balkan country will ever join the European Union.
The first round of its presidential elections comes amid a two-year standoff between the government and the opposition over how to deal with neighbouring Bulgaria blocking its path to EU membership.
Relations between Sofia and Skopje have been strained for years by bitter disputes over the two country's similar languages and history.
Sofia has refused to back the opening of accession talks between Skopje and the EU until North Macedonia recognises its tiny Bulgarian minority in the constitution.
President Stevo Pendarovski and the ruling centre-left Social Democrats (SDSM) are prepared to make the amendments but lack the numbers to win a parliamentary vote.
The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party refuses to budge, saying any constitutional changes can come after North Macedonia joins the EU, a stance the government says is unrealistic.
The first round of the presidential vote puts the two opposing views on the ballot, with Pendarovski in danger of being unseated by Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, who is backed by the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE.
- Old rivals -
The long-time political rivals, who also faced off in the last presidential election in 2019, are the leading candidates in a crowded field of seven.
The second round run-off will be held on May 8, the same day as the country's parliamentary election.
Pendarovski and the SDSM have vowed to unlock the stalled talks with the EU and shepherd the constitutional changes through the parliament.
"The priority of the new parliament will be adopting the constitutional changes and I expect that process to start immediately after the elections," he said.
Siljanovska-Davkova and the VMRO-DPMNE said North Macedonia -- which already had to change its name in 2018 from Macedonia to settle a separate long-running dispute with Greece -- will not be pushed around on the issue.
"Only unity can push us forward... and make us feel proud," the retired law professor and former MP told a rally on Monday night.
Wednesday's vote will be closely watched as a barometer for the parliamentary elections, said analyst Ana Petruseva, head of the Macedonia branch of regional investigative reporting outlet BIRN.
"The presidential elections' first round will be a dress-rehearsal for the parliamentary elections on May 8 and reveal the major political parties' standings," she told AFP.
- Eventual Albanian president? -
Opinion polls have suggested Pendarovski is heading for defeat.
Siljanovska-Davkova now leads in the polls with 26 percent support followed by Pendarovski on 16 percent.
The support of the five other candidates may be vital for the runoff, Petruseva added.
The five include Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, supported by the ethnic Albanian DUI party -- a partner in the ruling coalition -- and Arben Taravari of the opposition ethnic Albanian coalition.
The DUI has offered its backing in the second round on condition that future presidents be elected by MPs, which it hopes would one day lead to an ethnic Albanian holding the position.
Albanians make up more than a quarter of the country's population of 1.8 million.
Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova have dismissed the idea, saying it is more democratic for the head of state to be selected through a direct vote.
Ordinary voters, however, seem more interested in making ends meet.
"I hope that whoever wins will improve living standards and make a better future, especially for young people," civil servant Sanja Jovanovic-Damjanovska told AFP.
P.Anderson--BTB