Information
North Macedonia is gearing up for a presidential runoff as no candidate clinched enough votes to secure victory in the initial round of balloting. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the right-wing candidate backed by the main opposition centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE, emerged as the frontrunner with nearly 40% of the votes, while incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling centre-left SDSM trailed behind with close to 20%. The runoff, scheduled for May 8, will determine the country’s next president amidst the backdrop of its aspirations to join the European Union.
The election’s focal point revolves around North Macedonia’s EU aspirations, with both major parties, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, sharing the goal of EU membership but differing on the approach. The issue of recognizing North Macedonia’s ethnic Bulgarian minority in the constitution remains a key hurdle, with Bulgaria withholding support for EU accession talks until this demand is met. While Pendarovski and SDSM are willing to make constitutional amendments to facilitate EU negotiations, VMRO-DPMNE insists on delaying such changes until after EU accession, setting the stage for a crucial debate in the upcoming presidential runoff. Candidates Siljanovska-Davkova and Pendarovski responded to the results with contrasting tones, expressing determination and surprise, respectively, as they prepared for the decisive phase of the election campaign.
Source: AFP, AP, dpa
So what
Much of the globe is heading to the polls this year, whether in their country’s elections, such as this one, or the EU or US elections. The competing global powers will likely see each of these elections as a battleground for ideologies, With Russia, China, the US and Europe all vying to have candidates with their interests in mind successful. As such, it is highly likely that each of them will be plagued with information operations through social media and traditional media, as well as more conventional intelligence operations such as HUMINT and SIGINT collection to allow governments to understand the situation better.
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