On Monday afternoon, the State Election Commission (SEC) presented the preliminary official results of the second round of the local elections. SEC President Boris Kondarko stated that voter turnout in the 32 municipalities and the City of Skopje had been 41,93%, while the number of invalid ballot papers had been 23,930.
In the second round, the coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE, won the mayoral races in the City of Skopje and 21 municipalities, followed by VLEN and the coalition led by SDSM coalition, with four and three mayoral seats, respectively. while the Union of Roma, ZNAM, and the DUI-led coalition each won one.
When it comes to the Municipality of Struga, it will be headed by Mendi Qyra, who was an independent candidate in the mayoral race endorsed by VLEN. In Skopje, VMRO-DPMNE’s Orce Gjorgjievski won 57.03% of the votes, while his opponent, Levica’s Amar Mecinovic, was supported by 36.69% of the total number of voters.
Kondarko stated that that the deadlines for potential objections regarding the preliminary official results in terms of the procedure to determine the results expired on Wednesday (05 November), at 4:30 pm.
When it comes to deadlines for objections over the procedure to carry out the voting process, they have been underway since Sunday, 7 pm. The SEC also determined the new MP candidates that will succeed Beti Stamenkoska Trajkoska, Jane Micevski, and Dejan Prodanoski, all of whom are part of VMRO-DPMNE, who will become the Mayors of the Municipalities of Kisela Voda, Sopiste, and Prilep, respectively.
Kondarko explained that the SEC would notify the legislative house right away of the new three parliamentarians: Aleksandra Nikolovka, Martin Stojanovski, and Mito Andonov.
Several hours earlier, Parliament had determined the end of the terms of Prodanoski, Micevski, and Stamenkoska Trajkoski.
The 2025 elections have seen, in addition to Stamenkoska Trajkoska, three other women elected mayors. Sonja Stamenkova, who was endorsed by SDSM, was re-elected for another term in MakedonskaKamenica Municipality.
The second round also saw VMRO-DPMNE-endorsed candidates Marija Naceva and Natalija Dimitrieva elected in Negotino and Demir Kapija, respectively.In the frames of the local elections, there were 309 candidatesin mayoral race. 32 of them (10.35%) were women.
As far the turnout level is concerned, these local elections are the worst in the history of the country since its independence in 1991. For the first time, both the first and second round saw a turnout level below 50%.
According to SEC data, in the first and second round, turnout was 48.30% and 41.24%, respectively, the Sakam Da Kazam portal said in its 1:26 pm report on Monday.
There’s been a continued trend, that is, the voter turnout level in the first round of the 2013 local polls was 67%. That fell to 60% in 2017and to 50.57% in the 2021 local elections.