The Mayor of Struga Ramiz Merko from DUI won re-election against the Albanian opposition candidate Idri Istrefi.

Istrefi acknowledged defeat in the second round vote.

We fought with all our energy, but obviously it was not enough to win in Struga. I want to express my gratitude to all supporters and my apologies that we couldn’t do more, Istrefi said.

This is the first bit of good news for DUI of the evening, after the party lost in Tetovo and looks set to lose in Gostivar. Despite the numerous problems during his mandate including overdevelopment and deliberate destruction of vegetation on lake Ohrid which endangered the UNESCO World Heritage Site status of the region, Merko won direct support from SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, who hoped that DUI will reciprocate with votes in the race in Skopje. But DUI apparently did not deliver – their stronghold in Skopje – Saraj – had the lowest turnout of the elections, below 30 percent.