SDSM members are set to elect the party’s new leader in a vote on Sunday. Four candidates are in the running for the post. The vote will be held in 77 polling stations, with around 23,000 party members registered to vote.

The candidates are former Health Minister and current MP Venko Filipche, the head of the Free Zones Authority Jovan Despotovski, former Defense Minister and current MP Slavjanka Petrovska, and former Deputy Minister of Information Society and Administration Aleksandar Bajdevski. All four have vowed to reform the party and unite its membership.

On Friday, Petrovska accused the election process of being unfair, alleging that one candidate had access to the party’s database and misused the personal data of its members. She announced she would not vote in Sunday’s leadership elections and urged other candidates to withdraw from the race.

Petrovska also told the media she had received reports that in certain municipal organizations, some voters appeared who had not requested to be registered, implying that someone had registered them without their consent.

The head of the party’s Central Election Commission, Viktorija Avramovska-Madikj, stated that the Commission worked hard to ensure a transparent and democratic process, which is why Sunday’s vote will proceed as planned.

The electoral roll for the leadership vote, to be held in 77 polling stations nationwide, consists of 23,373 party members. Voting will begin at 8 am on Sunday and continue until 8 pm.