Key figures in SDSM voted in today’s election for a new party leader, amid low turnout and drop in interest. SDSM had the number of registered voters drop by more than 17,000, down to about 51,000, from the election in March, when Zaev was named party leader.
Turnout by 11h today was just 12 percent, meaning that even those that did register are not very keen to vote. Reports are coming that local party officials are organizing transportation to encourage voters to come to the polling stations that are opened across the country.

Zaev voted today, in his home town in Strumica, as did the three candidates who are vying to replace him. Dimitar Kovacevski, Zaev’s handpicked heir, voted in Skopje’s Karpos district. His main challenger Jovan Despotovski, who represents the Radmila Sekerinska led wing of the party, voted in Skopje’s Centar district, while the also-run disgraced former Vice President of the party Frosina Remenski voted in Gjorce Petrov. Voting continues until 19h, and it’s widely expected that Kovacevski will win, but the turnout will be an interesting indicator of party enthusiasm, as will the share of votes won by Despotovski, which will determine how strong Sekerinska will be in the post-Zaev future of the party.