Macedonia’s ruling party wins general elections

Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE party has declared victory in Sunday’s general elections, claiming they have won almost half of the seats in the parliament.

“The VMRO DPMNE-led coalition has won these elections,” Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE party leader Nikola Gruevski told supporters late on Sunday.

“This victory means that most citizens of Macedonia have recognised that the VMRO, even at a time of crisis and in the most difficult circumstances, knows how to deal with the country’s problems,” he added in a speech at the press centre in downtown Skopje.

While the opposition Social Democrats have conceded the race, they say that they are pleased because they expect their number of seats in the parliament to jump from 18 to more than 45.