Macedonia votes in municipal elections

Voting began this morning across Macedonia, in the eight local elections since independence.

A total of 1,83 million citizens are registered to vote in 80 municipalities and the city of Skopje, where 16 candidates are competing for the top executive position. Other larger cities, like Prilep and Bitola, have half a dozen candidates each, including candidates from major parties and independent candidates. A total of 576 lists of candidates have been submitted in the 80 municipalities and in Skopje for the local councils – Skopje has 19 lists submitted, Bitola 16 and Kumanovo – 14.

The councils are elected in one round of voting, as are the mayoral candidates – if they receive the needed majority, which is especially common in the municipalities that only have two candidates. Those that fail to do so in the first round will face a run-off in two weeks, where the two best ranked mayoral candidates will compete against each other.