During a campaign event in Dojran, SDSM presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski dismissed rumors that he may do a soft boycott of the second round of the presidential elections.

I have no reason to boycott the second round, because I will win the elections, Pendarovski insisted.

He lags the polls badly behind VMRO candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova, and the theory is that he may join DUI (and possibly the opposition Albanian bloc) in a boycott in the second round. According to the Constitution, it’s necessary that 40 percent of all registered voters turn out for the presidential election to be valid, and that would be difficult to achieve if only VMRO voters show up, especially considering the high emigration level which means that many of the registered voters live outside of the country.
DUI and some of the Albanian opposition parties have called for a change in the way the President is elected – they want a vote in Parliament, where ethnic Albanian representatives would have veto power, and this would likely assure that the winning candidate is Albanian.

Pendarovski concedes that he will lose the Macedonian vote but he and his SDSM party use the term “higher coalition capacity” – meaning that they are more able to accommodate Albanian demands and ensure the support of the Albanian parties in the second round. While the President does not hold significant power, a failed presidential election would cause confusion in the political scene.