Macedonian historian for NAP: Pendarovski's victory can trigger changes in the Balkans

SKOPJE, (Patria) - The victory of Stevo Pendarovski in the presidential elections in North Macedonia certainly means cementing the pro-NATO and pro-European path of this country.

This is what Macedonian historian and journalist Dejan Azeski told the Patria agency.

The candidate of the Macedonian right, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, has conceded victory to her opponent, pro-European politician Stevo Pendarovski, in the Macedonian presidential elections held on Sunday.  

According to the latest preliminary results, after 99.77% of the votes were counted, it was determined that Pendarovski received 51.68% and Siljanovska-Davkova 44.72% of the voters' ballots.

“Given that the entire Balkans still functions on the principle of ‘connected vessels’, it can be expected that such an outcome in Macedonia will also affect other Western Balkan countries, or more precisely, it means ‘wind in the sails’ for those political forces that have similar views and attitudes as Pendarovski,” says Azeski.

Nevertheless, he believes, the most important thing is that Macedonia gets a president who has already worked in two presidential cabinets (under Trajkovski and Crvenkovski) and that, at least for now, there is no stain on his political career.

“This victory is not the end of all the troubles for Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his ruling SDSM. Our largest party lost in all major cities where the Macedonian population dominates. This is a clear message that voters are not satisfied with many things in Macedonia – from economic policy to the intensity of our government’s work. That is why I believe that Zaev should take Pendarovski’s victory as a second chance and start with the announced personnel changes and intensification of economic activities from today. Because there is only a year and a half until the elections in 2020,” says Azeski.

He notes that the opposition in Macedonia, VMRO DPMNE, and their young leadership have also achieved an excellent result, which is a good prelude to the next parliamentary elections. 

“But, just like Zaev, they also need to engage to the maximum to find an Albanian political partner so they can form a government. Otherwise, looking at their rhetoric so far, they are on their way to becoming the Macedonian version of the Serbian Radical Party. That is, they can win the elections and then have no partner to form a government,” says Azeski.

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his ruling SDSM recently managed to resolve the long-standing dispute with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over the name Macedonia, which was the main obstacle for Macedonia on its path to European Union membership, while Macedonia is also expecting to join NATO. For this reason, many European officials have assessed Pendarovski’s victory in the presidential elections as a continuation of North Macedonia’s cooperation with the European Union.