These are the eighth local elections since the country’s independence was declared.
On October 19, North Macedonian citizens will vote to elect 80 mayors and local councils.
These are the eighth local elections since the country’s independence was declared—local elections are held every four years in the second half of October.
To win the first round, a candidate must receive at least one-third of the votes cast by registered voters and more than 50% of the votes. Otherwise, there is a second round for mayors two weeks later, this time on November 2.
The election of council members is completed in the first round, and their distribution is calculated using the D’ Ond formula (the total number of votes received by each party list is divided by 1, then by 2, by 3, by 4, and so on, until the final number of candidates to be elected in a given constituency is determined).
From 1965 to 1996, Macedonia had 32 municipalities, many of which represented the city of Skopje as a separate administrative unit. In 1996, a new law on territorial division was adopted, resulting in the creation of 123 municipalities, reduced to 80 in 2004.
These elections involved a large number of candidates: 309, of whom only 32 were women, for 80 mayors; 10,490 for 576 municipal councilors. In 2021, only two women were elected: Jacqueline Jovanovska in Staro Nagorichane and Danela Arsovska in Skopje.
The latter did not participate in these elections. In 2021, she was supported as an independent candidate by the then ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, but a conflict arose during her term in office. Arsovska dismissed VMRO-DPMNE municipal employees, accusing them of being guided by party interests, while VMRO-DPMNE accused her of holding the city hostage to her incompetence and political resentment.
Conflicts in the Skopje Municipal Council, where the VMRO-DPMNE party had a majority, caused numerous problems in the city, such as the non-collection of waste from garbage bins and unpaid wages for bus drivers, who subsequently went on strike.
Skopje is divided into 10 districts, mostly led by VMRO-DPMNE, so political struggles have left some of the work unfinished. VMRO-DPMNE nominated the current mayor of the Kiselova Voda district, Orce Georgievski. The capital is hosting the most interesting political battle with 18 candidates for mayor and 20 lists for the Municipal Council.
At election rallies, the two main parties clashed over the EU integration process. Opposition leader Venko Filipche of the SDSM spoke about his proposed “Red Line Resolution” and expects all parties to support it in order to break the deadlock in negotiations.
The Prime Minister and leader of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party announced a resolution that he will propose after the elections. In order to continue negotiations with the EU, North Macedonia must make constitutional changes and recognize the presence of Bulgarians in the country.
Filipche’s idea is for the state to fulfill its obligations under the negotiation framework and adopt the constitutional changes in February 2026, but only as a last resort. According to Mitskoski, this is just another “game” played by the opposition. “They declared in parliament that they would not accept ultimatums from Sofia, but they accepted everything,” Mitskoski said.
Old problems remain. This year, the electoral rolls again show polling stations where the number of registered voters exceeds the number of residents. For example, according to the latest census, Debar has 15,412 residents, but the electoral rolls show 19,763 eligible voters, or 4,351 more people. In Center Zhupa, there are even twice as many voters as residents: 7,551 versus 3,720. “The situation is due to a problem with the latest census of permanent and non-permanent population,” explain officials from the State Election Commission.
Unlike Debar, where the required voter turnout has been achieved so far, in Center Zhupa it was not achieved in the October 2021 elections. By decision of the government, the mayor was appointed temporarily until the extraordinary elections, in which he secured a second term.
This picture is valid for the whole country. The total number of registered voters is 1,832,415, while according to the 2021 census, the total population is 2,097,319 and the permanent population is 1,836,713. The diaspora does not vote in local elections, but those working or temporarily living abroad can return home and vote.
An armed attack in the town of Kumanovo was initially linked to the local elections. On October 7, shots were fired at a car driven by 43-year-old Zekirija Shaini from the village of Slupcane, leader of the DSI coalition list in the municipality of Lipkovo.
The man suffered only minor injuries and was released from hospital after one day of treatment. The prosecutor’s office said that initial investigations did not indicate any political motives behind the incident, as his wife was among the six people arrested for a previous attempted murder. The attacker is a 36-year-old man from Gostivar, who is now wanted by the police. I BGNES
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Analysis by the Italian Institute for the Caucasus and the Balkans