Macedonia Elections: VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM in a Dead Heat

Macedonian conservative party VMRO-DPMNE won 37.96 percent of the votes in Sunday's parliamentary elections, while the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) won 36.65 percent, the State Election Commission announced early Monday morning, reports Patria.

The results are based on almost 99 percent of votes counted, and the final election results are expected around noon on Monday.

The Most association, which monitors elections, stated that the race was too close to estimate how many seats each party would get in parliament.

Both parties declared victory during the evening.

The president of VMRO-DPMNE and current Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski proclaimed his party's victory in the elections half an hour past midnight. He emphasized that this is not just a victory for the coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE, but a victory for the Republic of Macedonia.

The leader of SDSM, Zoran Zaev, also proclaimed victory, addressing supporters in front of the Macedonian government building.

- The regime has fallen. The whole world should understand that we wrote history today - said Zaev. 

The elections were agreed upon under the auspices of the European Union to end the worst political crisis in 15 years, caused by fierce conflicts among Macedonian politicians. 

Former conservative Prime Minister Gruevski, who ruled for almost ten years, resigned from his post in January as part of an agreement with the EU. 

(Aljazeera)