Third ranked presidential candidate Blerim Reka said he believes he will win about 80.000 votes in the first round of the elections, and insisted that he will not “bargain with these votes” in the second round. Given the narrow margin between Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova and Stevo Pendarovski, Reka’s votes could make the difference in the crucial second round, or possibly sink the elections if the voters abstain, given how close the turnout is to the margin of 40 percent needed to have the elections declared valid.

There is no realistic voter list, in reality there are no more than 1.5 million voters in the country. This is why the turnout is so low. We are overjoyed by the results, especially in the Albanian municipalities, but also in the Macedonian municipalities. This result announces a new political spring. We said we will not bargain with our voters and we mean it. These votes belong to the citizens, said Reka.

The statement is seen as an announcement that he will not endorse a candidate in the second round of the elections, or even call for his supporters to bolster the turnout. Endorsed by the two ethnic Albanian opposition parties AA and BESA, Reka’s candidacy was seemingly focused on showing that the ruling ethnic Albanian party DUI does not enjoy as high a level of support among ethnic Albanians as it claims.