N. Macedonia, opposition wins vote

(ANSA-AFP) - SKOPJE, MAY 9 - North Macedonia appeared to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, as the nationalist opposition swept parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday. The country's right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party earned an easy victory, with the ruling Social Democrats (SDSM) conceding defeat before any official results were announced. Fireworks echoed through the capital Skopje as news of the landslide victory spread. "I congratulate our political opponent VMRO-DPMNE with this victory in the elections," said Dimitar Kovacevski, the former prime minister and leader of the ruling SDSM. The announcement even came before VMRO-DPMNE's party chief and likely incoming prime minister, Hristijan Mickoski, had time to give his own victory speech. "We succeeded. Macedonia won. It's a historic win for the people," Mickoski told supporters after the SDSM conceded. The state election commission later reported that VMRO-DPMNE won at least 59 seats in the 120-seat parliament, with roughly 92 percent of votes counted. The SDSM won just 19 seats, with the rest divided among a slew of smaller parties. The nationalist party's success will likely have a major effect on the Balkan country's dream of joining the European Union. Mickoski has refused to acknowledge the country's new name and a historic agreement with Greece in 2018, which added "North" to its title to settle a long-running dispute and allowed the country to join NATO.
    In the presidential run-off, which also took place on Wednesday, VMRO-DPMNE-backed candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was set to become the country's first woman president, after beating long-time rival Stevo Pendarovski, the incumbent president. "My biggest congratulations go to the citizens," she told media at the VMRO-DPMNE party's headquarters. (ANSA-AFP).