In a resounding first-round victory, opposition VMRO DPMNE-backed candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova took 40.08 per cent of the vote in Wednesday’s presidential elections, far ahead of incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, endorsed by the ruling Social Democrats, who got 19.93 per cent.

The results came after more than 99 per cent of the votes had been counted. Since no candidate won more than 50 per cent, the two frontrunners will compete in a run-off on May 8, which will take place in parallel with the much higher-stakes general election.

The result was “inspiring”, Siljanovska-Davkova said in a victory speech just before midnight.

She thanked VMRO DPMNE voters for their support but also those who voted for other candidates, pledging that if elected she will respect and cooperate with all political forces in the country.

“Everyone who truly wishes Macedonia well should come together, and we should not confine ourselves only to the frame of Macedonia, but should act regionally, to help each other and use all forms of cooperation,” she said.

In a late-night address, the ruling party-backed Pendarovski admitted that the result has been “far from what was expected” but insisted that “from tomorrow, it’s a new day and we are starting from zero”.

Of the candidates attracting votes from North Macednia’s large ethnic Albanian community, Bujar Osmani from the junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, took the lead over his opponent from the joint Albanian opposition bloc, Arben Taravari. Osmani won 13.36 per cent of the vote while Taravari won 9.21 per cent.

Osmani said this clearly reflects the will of the Albanian people. But the Albanian VLEN opposition bloc declined to congratulate him.

One of the leaders of the VLEN alliance, Bilal Kasami, alleged that the DUI achieved its result fraudulently. “The DUI bought votes from vulnerable voters who are in need of money,” he claimed, without providing evidence.

Among the remaining three candidates, the mayor of Kumanovo and head of the relatively recently-formed ZNAM party, Maksim Dimitrievski, had most reason to celebrate. Dimitrievski won 9.26 per cent of the vote, claiming  fourth place overall, after the two frontrunners and Osmani.

Biljana Vankovska, the candidate of the Levica (Left) party, won 4,55 per cent, while the mayor of Skopje’s Karposh municipality, Stevco Jakomovski, won just 0.9 per cent.

Out of 1,814,317 registered voters, 904,892 cast their ballots, meaning that the turnout in the first round stood at 49.95 per cent.

The first round of presidential polls was expected to inform the outcome of parallel general elections which will be held in two weeks’ time. In the parliamentary vote, the VMRO DPMNE is seeking to defeat the Social Democrats, who have been in power since mid-2017.

In a speech on Wednesday night, VMRO DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski called on all the country’s other political forces and on undecided voters to unite behind him.

In a reference to the politically influential Albanian campus, Mickoski indicated that he favours the VLEN opposition bloc, which he congratulated on its presidential election result, and called on it “not to let DUI get a good result” in the parliamentary polls in two weeks.