VMRO-DPMNE candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova conceded defeat in the second round of presidential elections against Stevo Pendarovski, the candidate of the ruling SDSM – DUI coalition. In her concession remarks, Siljanovska decried the deep ethnic and political division in Macedonia, after ethnic Albanians voted nearly unanimously for Stevo Pendarovski, overturning her comfortable winning margin among ethnic Macedonians.

To win nearly 370.000 votes, to win nearly 50.000 additional votes from the first round, coming from different groups of voters, that is truly a great inspiration for me. I know that the candidate of the Government won, but I don’t feel that I as an individual, or as a VMRO-DPMNE candidate lost the battle, Siljanovska said.

Siljanovska pointed out to the deep cleavage revealed at the elections, when she carried most Macedonian municipalities, somewhere narrowly, somewhere with double digits. But at the same time, village after village in the ethnic Albanian districts delivered completely one sided results such as 2.000 – 15, 1.500 – 22, 4.300 – 57, all in favor of Pendarovski.

It is a valid question whether this leads toward reconciliation and unity, or whether it signifies deep division inside the country, on several basis, of ethnic partition and whether the slogan “go forward together” truly means what it says, Siljanovska said, referring to the motto of the Pendarovski campaign.