Macedonia

George Ivanov, the conservative candidate of the ruling right from centre VMRO DPMNE party won Sunday’s presidential elections the State Election Commission data show. This election”opens the European perspective for Macedonia” Ivanov said. He noted his priorities would be EU and NATO membership and solving the long standing name dispute …

The election campaign for the second round of joint presidential and mayoral elections in Macedonia, seen as crucial for the country’s democratic image, ends at midnight on Friday. Following the pre-election pause, Macedonia is set to elect its next president in a run-off election on Sunday. Voters will choose between …

The European Commission has decided to redefine the terms “Macedonian”, “Macedonians” and country code “MK” in its institutional style guide, Erik Meijer, European Parliament Rapporteur for Macedonia, suspects. According to information obtained by Eric Meijer, these terms now in common use are to be replaced with the designation “to be …

The government’s policy aimed at boosting the country’s population growth by giving cash bonuses to mothers with more than one child has crumbled before the Constitutional Court, on the grounds that it is discriminatory. The court ruled on Wednesday that the government’s provisions in the child protection law, envisaging state …

Krusevo barber, Slavko Kalevski, says he has had much happier times working in his salon in this remote Macedonian mountain town since he banned discussions about politics in the shop. A large sign saying “no talking politics inside” hanging on the door greets his customers, warning them to leave their …

Macedonia’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday denied media reports that it was holding secret talks with the IMF over a new loan to deal with a growing current account deficit. Makfax news agency reported that a Finance Ministry official has responded to today’s edition of the newspaper Utrinski Vesnik, in which …

ATHENS, Greece – Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis has rejected an initiative by Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki aimed at improving strained relations between the two neighbours, media reported on Monday (March 30th). In a letter to Bakoyannis on March 13th, Milososki suggested that the two countries should overcome their differences by …

Opinion polls in Macedonia suggest that Georgi Ivanov of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE will defeat his rival, Ljubomir Frckovski, in the country’s April 5 presidential elections. A poll by the Democratic Institute found that 25 percent of voters would support Ivanov while 15 percent would vote for Frckoski. The poll also …

The US ambassador to Greece, Daniel Speckhard voiced hope that the burning Athens-Skopje name row will be solved in 2010, local media reported on Friday. Ambassador Speckhard noted this in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center, on the theme “Resilience and Transition: Resetting US- Greece Relations,” the local Makfax …

The presidential candidates of the ruling party and the opposition who entered the second round of Macedonia’s election can not count on securing the votes of runners-up, Imer Selmani and Ljube Boskoski. The two runners-up stated they will not give their backing to either candidate in the second round or …