Election Date: June 1, 2008

Abstract: At stake: Assembly

At stake: Assembly

Background

Macedonia was a part of Yugoslavia until it declared its independence in 1991. The new country became a member of the United Nations (UN) in 1993. Macedonia had to register in the UN under the provisional name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), because Greece expressed concern over potential territorial claims to one of its provinces, which is also known as Macedonia.

The name dispute between Greece and Macedonia continues to this day. Greece has imposed two trade embargoes against the country as a result. The dispute has also harmed Macedonia’s aspirations to enter certain international bodies, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU).

Macedonia has been split along ethnic groups—ethnic Albanians and Macedonians—since it was a part of Yugoslavia. In 2001, the country came close to a civil war, as representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority became engaged in a series of violent battles that forced many residents to flee. The conflict ended with a new constitution, which guarantees Albanian rights. Albanian became of the country’s two official languages.

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) governed from 1998 to 2002, after abandoning its nationalist image in favour of a more inclusive approach.

In the September 2002 elections, a center-left group came to power. Branko Crvenkovski of the Together for Macedonia coalition became the new prime minister.

In February 2004, Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski was killed in a plane crash. In April , Branko Crvenkovski—who had served as prime minister—was elected to replace Trajkovski.

Click here for Macedonia 2004 Election Tracker 

In August 2004, new legislation granted ethnic Albanians more local autonomy in certain regions.

Macedonia held an early legislative election in July 2006. Final results gave the right-of-centre VMRO-DPMNE 32.5 per cent of the vote, followed by the Social Democratic League of Macedonia (SDSM) with 23.3 per cent. In August, Nikola Gruevski became prime minister.

Gruevski decided to include the Democratic Party of Albanians (PDSH) in the new government instead of a coalition that had garnered more votes—the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) and the Democratic Prosperity Party (PPD)—which triggered protests in some parts of the country.

Click here for Macedonia 2006 Assembly Election Tracker 

In December 2006, Macedonia officially became a candidate for EU membership.

In May 15, 2007, the VMRO-DPMNE became an observer-member of the European People’s Party (EPP).

2008 Assembly Election

During a NATO summit in early April, Greece blocked Macedonia’s invitation to join the alliance over the country’s name. On Apr. 21, Macedonian president Branko Crvenkovski wrote a letter to United Nations (UN) secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to protest against Greece’s decision, saying it violated a 1995 accord that stipulated Greece would no block Macedonia’s bid to access NATO if it applied under its Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) name. The president claimed that Greece "has violated the 1995 accord when it vetoed Macedonia’s membership to NATO at the Bucharest Summit. (…) Greece objected to Macedonia’s membership invitation by setting a pre-condition of reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the differences over Macedonia’s name."

On Apr. 8, just days after Macedonia’s NATO bid was trumped by Greece, the ethnic-Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) called for early elections to secure a stronger government capable of passing legislation on delicate issues. In a statement, the party declared: "The resolution of the name dispute with Greece and some other issues require the engagement and function of the institutions with full capacity which the government lacks."

On Apr. 11, Macedonian lawmakers voted in favour of dissolving the government and holding an early legislative ballot. Ljubisa Georgievski, the Parliament’s speaker, said after the vote: "I can state that the parliament voted its dissolution and I wish you all the best in coming elections." Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski said he backed the decision to hold a snap election in order to gain a stronger mandate that would allow his party to introduce economic reforms.

This will be the first time Macedonia holds an early election. The ballot had not been expected until 2010.

On Apr. 23, the European Parliament voted in favour of accelerating Macedonia’s bid to join the EU. The motion seeks to open "accession negotiations before the end of 2008, which will further enhance the stability and strengthen the European prospects of the western Balkans.’’ The parliament also called for Greece and Macedonia to "immediately’’ resume talks over the name dispute.

On May 5, Gruevski said all Macedonians should express their views on the dispute with Greece, adding, “A handful of politicians cannot decide on such an issue without asking the people in a referendum.”

An April poll by the Center for Research and Policy Making placed the VMRO-DPMNE as the frontrunner in the election.

In May, the country’s main political parties announced the formation of large coalitions. The governing VMRO-DPMNE aligned with 18 minor parties to create For a Better Macedonia. The opposition Social Democratic League of Macedonia (SDSM) and eight other political organizations will contest the election as A Sun for European Macedonia.

On May 6, SDSM leader Radmila Sekerinska presented her platform. Sekerinska said the opposition alliance would focus on securing Macedonia’s entry into both NATO and the EU.

On May 13, Gruevski called for a clean campaign, saying, “The political fight must has to have a point, it should be battle between different concepts and ideas. It mustn’t turn into an arena for fighting with muscles or weapons, instead of concepts and ideas.”

On May 21, U.S. ambassador to Macedonia Gillian Milovanovich urged the government to hold a free and fair ballot, saying, “Undoubtedly, the international community expects these elections to be at least as good as the ones of 2006. They should be even better, given the fact you are now qualified for NATO membership. Everyone expects from you to be better than in 2006, because if these elections prove to be worse, the tensions will aggravate further, the people will feel more insecure, and all that will have a negative impact on Macedonia.”

Voting took place on Jun. 1. Violence broke out on election day, with several gunbattles leaving one person dead and eight wounded. Erwan Fouere, head of the European Union office in Macedonia, declared: "We are deeply concerned by the many corroborated reports of not only acts of intimidation, but also blatant violence, shooting, injuries to innocent people."

Gruevski declared victory, adding, "Macedonia has the power to go ahead. The country has the energy for progress to join NATO and EU."

Final results gave the For a Better Macedonia coalition 48.24 per cent of the vote and 64 seats, followed by A Sun for European Macedonia with 23.31 per cent and 28 mandates. Turnout was tabled at 58 per cent.

On Jun. 15, the election was repeated in 187 of the country’s 2,976 polling stations. U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos declared: “The conduct of the June 15th partial reruns of early parliamentary elections were a substantial improvement over the June 1 elections, which were marred by fraud, intimidation and violence.”

On Jun. 29, 15 polling stations saw a re-vote. The results did not affect the allocation of seats.

Political Players

President: Branko Crvenkovski - SDSM
Prime minister: Nikola Gruevski - VMRO-DPMNE

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Sobranie (Assembly) has 120 members, elected to four-year terms; 85 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, and 35 members are elected by proportional representation.

Results of Last Election:

President - Apr. 14 and Apr. 28, 2004

	Apr. 14	Apr. 28
Branko Crvenkovski (Social Democratic League of Macedonia)	42.47%	62.7%
Sasko Kedev (VMRO-DPMNE)	34.07%	37.3%
Gezim Ostreni (Democratic Union for Integration - Democratic Prosperity Party)	14.79%	--
Zedi Xhelili (Democratic Party of Albanians)	8.67%	--

Assembly - Jun. 1, 2008

	Vote%	Seats
For a Better Macedonia (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization -Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity, Socialist Party of Macedonia, Democratic Union, Democratic Renewal of Macedonia, Democratic Party of Turks, Democratic Party of Serbs, Union of Roma in Macedonia, Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Macedonia, United Party for Emancipation, Party of Justice, Party of Democratic Action of Macedonia, Party of Vlachs of Macedonia, Party for Roma Integration, People’s Movement of Macedonia, Democratic Party of the Bosniaks, Party of the Greens, Democratic Union of the Roma, Workers’ Agricultural Party of the Republic of Macedonia, Party for Full Emancipation of the Roma)	48.24%	64
A Sun for European Macedonia (New Social Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party of Macedonia, New Alternative, Green Party of Macedonia, Party of Pensioners of the Republic of Macedonia, Democratic Union of Vlachs in Macedonia)	23.31%	28
Democratic Union for Integration	11.13%	13
Democratic Party of Albanians	10.52%	13
Party for European Future	1.45%	--
Party for Democratic Prosperity	1.12%	--
Albanian Democratic Union	0.72%	--
Social Democratic Party of Macedonia	0.64%	--
Party of Free Democrats	0.44%	--
Father’s Macedonian Organization for Radical Renewal - Vardar-Egej-Pirin	0.43%	--
Radical Party of the Serbs in Macedonia	0.43%	--
Union of Tito’s Left Forces	0.39%	--
Movement for National Unity of Turks	0.37%	--
National Democratic Union	0.32%	--
Group of Electors PM	0.27%	--
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party	0.24%	--
Permanent Macedonian Radical Unification	0.19%	--
Group of Electors PG	0.05%	--

 

 

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