FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The voting process for the eighth local elections in North Macedonia has closed. As of 7 am, citizens exercised their right to vote in a total of 3,480 polling stations across the country.
Data from the State Election Commission (SEC) show that 1,832,415 citizens were eligible to vote to elect 80 mayors and members of municipal councils across the country, as well as the mayor of the City of Skopje and members of the Skopje City Council.
The latest data from the electoral commission shows that the number of voters by 5:00 PM was 39.85 percent.
The highest turnout so far has been recorded in the municipality of Novaci with 65.75 percent, followed by Çashka with 65.5 percent, Vevçan with 61.84 percent and Krushevo with 60.94 percent.
Meanwhile, the lowest participation was recorded in the municipality of Qendër Zhupa with 19.15 percent, followed by Vrapçisht with 20.94 percent, Mavrovo and Rostuša with 25.89 percent and Gostivar with 28.02 percent.
Yesterday, the day before the elections, prisoners, people under house arrest, sick and helpless people, as well as people in nursing homes, voted.
In this election process, 309 candidates competed for the position of mayor, while 576 lists with a total of 10,490 candidates were presented for the municipal councils. 22 parties, 19 coalitions and 119 independent candidates participated in these elections.
The SEC is due to announce the initial results of the October 19 local elections within 12 hours of the closing of the process. The SEC accredited 697 domestic and 639 foreign observers to monitor the elections.
Today's elections will be followed by a second round on November 2, in municipalities where no candidate reaches the necessary majority in the first round.
During the 20-day campaign, which began on September 29 and ended at midnight on October 17, political parties and independent candidates held rallies and meetings with citizens, promising improvements in infrastructure, public services, and local economic development.
These are the eighth local elections in North Macedonia, following those in 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021.
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