In the Albanian political bloc, the battle is taking place between…

In the campaign for local elections in North Macedonia, mayoral candidates and candidates for municipal councils have intensified their activities to attract voters with their election programs.

The local elections in North Macedonia are taking place in a social and political context that continues to be deeply polarized, the OSCE-ODIHR Office assessed in its preliminary report on the local elections.

According to the Election Observation Mission, distrust in institutions, perceptions of widespread corruption, and tensions over national identity and ethnic representation continue to shape the electoral environment.

In the local elections in North Macedonia, which will take place on October 19, a total of 309 candidates are running for 81 mayoral positions.

The voter register covers approximately 1.83 million eligible voters, of whom 1.72 million live in the country.

According to data from the State Election Commission, the candidates are mainly men 277 (89.6%), while women are only 32 (10.4%). The oldest candidate as a member of the Bitola Municipal Council is 97 years old.

In the Macedonian bloc, the main competition is taking place between the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party and the opposition led by SDSM, while in the Albanian political bloc, the main battle is taking place between the ruling VLEN coalition and the opposition AKI.

Gashi: Democracy is measured by the dignity of the competition.

Speaker of Parliament Afrim Gashi has called for the development of a fair, democratic and dignified competition. According to him, elections are not simply an institutional formality, but an essential tool for citizens to elect leaders with integrity and vision.

“Democracy is not measured by the victory of an individual or party, but by the dignity of the competition. Therefore, I expect with confidence that this electoral process will be a testament to our democratic maturity and a reflection of our European aspirations,” said Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi.

The OSCE-ODIHR assessment

noted that the elections are taking place at a time of intensified debates on constitutional changes needed for progress towards the European Union and under conditions of heightened social discontent following the tragic fire at a nightclub in Kocani, which further damaged trust in institutions.

The OSCE/ODIHR mission concluded that the media in Macedonia remains divided along political and ethnic lines, operating in a limited advertising market and with reduced professional capacities. Television remains the dominant source of information for citizens, but the influence of online media and social networks is constantly growing, often without effective regulatory oversight.

Why is negative campaigning dominating over positive campaigning?

Political analyst Xhelal Neziri says that the reason why the so-called negative campaigning is prevailing is that political rivals do not offer real and credible alternatives for the elections. The lack of trust among voters forces parties to focus on negative campaigning. This form of negative propaganda is driven by the motto “I am bad, but my opponent is even worse.”

“Despite efforts to present beautiful projects and effective solutions to citizens’ problems, it is difficult to convince voters that they will be implemented. Most candidates have political experience – which now prevents them from convincing the public that they will keep their promises,” explains Neziri.

Political scientist Petar Atanasovski says that negative campaigning is more prevalent among Macedonian political parties. Mutual accusations about issues that have nothing to do with local government are dominant in meetings with voters.

“Citizens are simply used to this type of politics and unfortunately, politicians are serving them. Not everything is so “black” in this election campaign, there are candidates who are running a positive campaign and who base their promises on the needs of citizens in the municipalities,” says political scientist Petar Atanasovski. These will be the eighth local elections since North Macedonia’s independence in 1991./DW