VMRO DPMNE Suffers Shock Defeat in Macedonia Polls

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  • Albo
    Member
    • May 2014
    • 304

    VMRO DPMNE Suffers Shock Defeat in Macedonia Polls

    VMRO DPMNE Suffers Shock Defeat in Macedonia Polls

    The first round of local elections on Sunday in Macedonia was a disaster for the former ruling party, whose leader, Nikola Gruevski, now faces awkward questions about his future.

    The ht-wing VMRO DPMNE party of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in elections for 81 mayors and municipal councils, completely losing its former dominant position in local government.

    The party, which in the last local elections in 2013 won 56 municipalities, including the capital Skopje, on Sunday won only in three rural areas near Skopje.

    According to the first official results, published on Monday, VMRO DPMNE also has a slight lead before the second round, set for October 29, in six more municipalities.

    The most significant is in its former bastion of Stip where its candidate won some 30 more votes than his opponent from the ruling Social Democrats, SDSM, which will make for a tight second round.

    The SDSM, according to the election commission, won the mayoral races in 37 municipalities in the first round and has a convincing lead in another 13 municipalities.

    The SDSM, which won only four mayoral seats last time, is also close to clinching victory in Skopje, the main prize in these elections.

    Results show that out of 97.52 per cent of counted votes, it reached the threshold of over 50 per cent of all votes, meaning victory in the first round.

    Exceeding all predictions, the SDSM has snatched a convincing victory or lead in many former VMRO DPMNE strongholds, including the towns of Prilep and Ohrid and the Skopje municipalities of Gazi Baba, Butel, Kisela Voda and Aerodrom.

    Almost the entire east of the country, which was also seen as a VMRO DPMNE stronghold for the past decade, is now in the hands of the SDSM as well.

    The shock result may end the political career of VMRO DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski who, after calling the elections a referendum on his return to power, conceded defeat while complaining of many irregularities.

    Gruevski, who is facing criminal investigations related to his party’s 11 years in power, as well as calls to step down from within his party, on Sunday declined to say whether he would resign.

    “As the party president, I certainly hold most responsibility for these results. We will discuss this immediately after the end of the elections,” Gruevski told a press conference.

    After 11 years in power, Gruevski's party was ousted in May, ending an almost three-year-long political crisis centered around allegations of widespread corruption and authoritarian tendencies within the party.

    Election race continues in Albanian areas:

    In the ethnic Albanian bloc, the junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, has secured certain victory only in two municipalities, but maintained a lead in 10 others over its rivals from the opposition BESA movement and the Alliance for Albanians.

    These municipalities are concentrated mainly in the north-west, where most ethnic Albanians live. Albanians make up about a quarter of the country's population of just over 2.1 million.

    The results in the Albanian camp, however, where the town of Tetovo and the Skopje municipality of Cair are seen as the prizes, promise an interesting second round.

    This is because the DUI's lead in many areas barely matches the combined number of votes won by their two rivals who could still stand a chance if they combine forces.

    The situation in the ethnically mixed south-western town of Struga is unusual. This is the only town where the Alliance for Albanians won a convincing lead in the first round over the DUI.

    But the DUI there hopes to turn the tide in the second round thanks to its alliance with the SDSM which should bring them a considerable number of ethnic Macedonian votes.

    Struga was one of the few municipalities where the SDSM and the DUI did not support each other in the first round but promised to do so in the second turn. In many other areas, the two parties collaborated by promoting a single candidate.

    One curiosity was the rural municipality of Aracinovo near Skopje which became the first Albanian-dominated municipality to elect a mayor from the ranks of the Social Democrats, a predominantly ethnic Macedonian party.

    The second round of elections will most likely be held in 35 of the 81 municipalities between the two leading candidates from the first round.

    In more than 20 of them, the SDSM and VMRO DPMNE or its smaller alliance partner will be pitted directly against each other. The DUI and the Alliance for Albanians will compete in five while DUI will face the BESA movement in seven.

    Candidates from other smaller parties or independent candidates managed win or take the lead in just a few areas.

    The first round of local elections on Sunday in Macedonia was a disaster for the former ruling party, whose leader, Nikola Gruevski, now faces awkward questions about his future.
  • Odi Zvezdo
    Junior Member
    • Apr 2016
    • 63

    #2
    This is the end of FYROM...hello Banana Republic Vardar Skopje...where the official language is Slavic and Albanian and the country is run by the Mafia and an American Ambassador..

    I've seen less rigged elections in Liberia!!!

    Comment

    • Niko777
      Senior Member
      • Oct 2010
      • 1895

      #3
      This is the best thing that could have happened to DPMNE. Members in the party are pressuring Gruevski to resign and if he does DPMNE will have a chance at becoming a respectable party again and coming back in the next elections.

      Zaev now controls both local and national governments. One good thing that could possibly come from his administration is that he could make Albanians less nationalist, decrease the use of Albanian symbols/statues, integrate them in Macedonian society (Gruevski tried making Macedonians more patriotic but ultimately failed and only ended up making Albanians into nationalists). Of course at what cost to Macedonian identity will Zaev do this? Will he cut all ties to Ancient Macedonia? Will he put a name change to a referendum for Macedonia to join Nato/Eu? Will he make Albanian equal to the Macedonian language? According to the election results, Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia obviously have no problem with any of these changes...

      Comment

      • Odi Zvezdo
        Junior Member
        • Apr 2016
        • 63

        #4
        Originally posted by Niko777 View Post
        This is the best thing that could have happened to DPMNE. Members in the party are pressuring Gruevski to resign and if he does DPMNE will have a chance at becoming a respectable party again and coming back in the next elections.

        Zaev now controls both local and national governments. One good thing that could possibly come from his administration is that he could make Albanians less nationalist, decrease the use of Albanian symbols/statues, integrate them in Macedonian society (Gruevski tried making Macedonians more patriotic but ultimately failed and only ended up making Albanians into nationalists). Of course at what cost to Macedonian identity will Zaev do this? Will he cut all ties to Ancient Macedonia? Will he put a name change to a referendum for Macedonia to join Nato/Eu? Will he make Albanian equal to the Macedonian language? According to the election results, Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia obviously have no problem with any of these changes...
        Can I ask for your opinion in 6 months time when the name of the country is the Federal Republic of Northern Macedonia & Illyrida and your identity is Slavic.

        The only hope is Zaev completely sells the country and the citizens wake up to themselves!

        Comment

        • Liberator of Makedonija
          Senior Member
          • Apr 2014
          • 1595

          #5
          Personally I believe Macedonians are screwed either way, both DPMNE and SDSM are just as quick to sell off the Macedonian identity in favour of greater capital. That being said, I doubt these elections were completely free of rigging.
          I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

          Comment

          • Pelagonija
            Member
            • Mar 2017
            • 533

            #6
            At the end of the day the end results speak for themselves, most Macedonians and Albanians are more liberal than nationalists, especially amongst the young hence the status quo. Who would have thought Aricanovo would have an SDSM mayor? I think people are just over nationalism and realise it's not a life or death matter and it won't bring food on the table nor will it improve the quality of life.

            What I found interesting was the voter turn out in most Albanian areas hovered around the 30's. I've always had doubts about the actual figure of Albanians living permanently in MKD. Sad also to see the Macedonians didn't band together in Kicevo instead voted against their brothers based on party lines.. Says it all about the mindset of the Macedonians.

            Zaev or Gruo is not to blame. Kakvo vlast takvo narod

            Comment

            • Starling
              Member
              • Sep 2017
              • 153

              #7
              This would probably be a good time to raise more awareness for the issues in Macedonia. Emphasis on the name debate being a violation of the human right to self-determination and pointing out that other countries haven't been subjected to that sort of thing would help make the point. Emphasizing a continuity between ancient Macedonia and present day Macedonia would be important too since a lot of people don't seem to know that anymore and that ignorance blinds them to just how badly Macedonians are being treated to this day. People seem to pay the most attention to other countries around elections or international matters concerning specific countries.

              There are people protesting about the Albanian stuff, so it's not like people in Macedonia are just sitting around doing nothing. I think it's not so much that people aren't doing anything as their voices aren't really being heard by people who'll actually do something about it.

              Comment

              • VMRO
                Senior Member
                • Sep 2008
                • 1462

                #8
                Originally posted by Pelagonija View Post
                At the end of the day the end results speak for themselves, most Macedonians and Albanians are more liberal than nationalists, especially amongst the young hence the status quo. Who would have thought Aricanovo would have an SDSM mayor? I think people are just over nationalism and realise it's not a life or death matter and it won't bring food on the table nor will it improve the quality of life.

                What I found interesting was the voter turn out in most Albanian areas hovered around the 30's. I've always had doubts about the actual figure of Albanians living permanently in MKD. Sad also to see the Macedonians didn't band together in Kicevo instead voted against their brothers based on party lines.. Says it all about the mindset of the Macedonians.

                Zaev or Gruo is not to blame. Kakvo vlast takvo narod

                I don't know if the low voting turnout can be linked to Macedonians or Albanians being more liberal. I think it is more to do with these area's being less populated than they once were. The Albanian populated area's were low as it is, imagine how low they would've been if they didn't systematically bring Albanians from the diaspora to vote. Kichevo right now would've been either neck and neck with the DPNE candidate or it would've been won by DPNE.

                The eligible voters in Macedonia exceed 1.8 Million, yet the official population is 2.081 Million.

                With mass migration of out of the country the past few years and many young moving to Skopje to find a job those numbers just do not seem right.
                Last edited by VMRO; 10-16-2017, 11:16 PM.
                Verata vo Mislite, VMRO vo dushata, Makedonia vo Srceto.

                Vnatreshna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija.

                Comment

                • Starling
                  Member
                  • Sep 2017
                  • 153

                  #9
                  Is that legal? If it is it seems only fair to let Macedonians from the diaspora vote too.

                  Comment

                  • Liberator of Makedonija
                    Senior Member
                    • Apr 2014
                    • 1595

                    #10
                    Yeah is it legal to vote in elections if you don't live in the country permanently?
                    I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                    Comment

                    • Albo
                      Member
                      • May 2014
                      • 304

                      #11
                      Yes it is legal to vote.. as long as you have citizenship and are present on the day of the vote..

                      As for the numbers of Albanians that work or live abroad they are general divided it two categories.

                      One group live and work abroad, they own property and have citizenship in the country they reside.

                      The other group mostly come and go frequently to Macedonia 3-4 times a year, they mostly work cash jobs, don't own property or have permanent citizenship..

                      As for the amount of people living in Macedonia..
                      As far as I know the overwhelming percentage of the population present vote on the day of elections..

                      So to get a rough idea .. just over 1,000,000 people voted I these elections..

                      Just add
                      If anyone knows the number of children under the age of 18 in the country...and that will be a close range od the amount on people in the country..

                      Comment

                      • Starling
                        Member
                        • Sep 2017
                        • 153

                        #12
                        Why are there so many Albanians with citizenship in Macedonia who don't even live there? Don't you need to live in a country for a specific fraction of the year to be eligible for citizenship? Is that where the over inflated statistic of Albanians making up a quarter of the population comes from? Why so few Macedonians abroad with citizenship voting by comparison? I recall something about being able to vote through embassies if you can't physically be in the country you have voting rights in during the election but mass bussing of Albanian voters with no mention of Macedonian ones suggests unequal infrastructure in that regard. While the whole thing is theoretically legal it's an example of artificially influencing the voting turnout by making voting more accessible to one group than to another. If it's an issue with lack of infrastructure for Macedonians we need to fix that. If it's an issue with obstruction then that's where the voting fraud is.

                        Comment

                        • Liberator of Makedonija
                          Senior Member
                          • Apr 2014
                          • 1595

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Starling View Post
                          Why are there so many Albanians with citizenship in Macedonia who don't even live there? Don't you need to live in a country for a specific fraction of the year to be eligible for citizenship? Is that where the over inflated statistic of Albanians making up a quarter of the population comes from? Why so few Macedonians abroad with citizenship voting by comparison? I recall something about being able to vote through embassies if you can't physically be in the country you have voting rights in during the election but mass bussing of Albanian voters with no mention of Macedonian ones suggests unequal infrastructure in that regard. While the whole thing is theoretically legal it's an example of artificially influencing the voting turnout by making voting more accessible to one group than to another. If it's an issue with lack of infrastructure for Macedonians we need to fix that. If it's an issue with obstruction then that's where the voting fraud is.
                          Yeah to my knowledge you need to live in the country to be able to vote, citizenship or not
                          I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                          Comment

                          • Albo
                            Member
                            • May 2014
                            • 304

                            #14
                            Why are there so many Albanians with citizenship in Macedonia who don't even live there? Don't you need to live in a country for a specific fraction of the year to be eligible for citizenship?
                            In you are born in Macedonia or your parents were born in Macrdonia, then you legally have the right to obtain citizenship, which entails the right to vote (if present on the day - for local elections) or for the allocated diaspora seats by voting at embassies abroad during parliamentary elections. The Albanian community of Macedonia has had a long history with migration hence the large numbers abroad with citizenship..

                            There is no time frame that a person needs to be present in a country during the year to be on the electoral roll and be eligible to vote if they are legal citizens.

                            Is that where the over inflated statistic of Albanians making up a quarter of the population comes from?
                            No... the number of 25% comes from the census of 2002 who counted the amount of people present in the country on the day.

                            The diaspora wasn't included in that number (either was the Macedonian diaspora) but if both Albanian and Macedonian diaspora were to be counted the percentage of Albanians would be higher than 25% due to the Albanians having a larger diaspora community who originate from RoM.

                            Why so few Macedonians abroad with citizenship voting by comparison?
                            Simply because they don't care enough to make the trip over and vote, the majority aren't as linked to their place pf origin as much as the Albanians are. Many Macedonians sell their property when they migrate abroad and don't come back very often once they are established in western countries.

                            Albanians on the other hand mostly NEVER sell family property when they migrate and always reinvest the money earned abroad in the places they originate, also they frequent Macedonia on a more regular basis.

                            A

                            Comment

                            • Risto the Great
                              Senior Member
                              • Sep 2008
                              • 15658

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Albo View Post
                              The diaspora wasn't included in that number (either was the Macedonian diaspora) but if both Albanian and Macedonian diaspora were to be counted the percentage of Albanians would be higher than 25% due to the Albanians having a larger diaspora community who originate from RoM.
                              Oh dear.
                              Really?
                              How?
                              Risto the Great
                              MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                              "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                              Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                              Comment

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