site.btaVoter Turnout Just Below 20% by Midday in Run-off of North Macedonia’s Local Elections

Voter turnout in the run-off of the local elections for mayors in 32 municipalities and the capital Skopje stood at 19.96% as of 1:00 p.m. local time, according to the State Election Commission (SEC) of the Republic of North Macedonia.

The highest voter participation was recorded in the municipalities of Probishtip (36.66%), Krushevo (34.86%), and Lozovo (34.54%), while the lowest was in Skopje’s municipalities of Sarai (3.58%), Chair (5.35%), and Shuto Orizari (12.78%).

In Skopje, overall turnout reached 15.28%. In addition to choosing the city’s mayor, residents are also electing mayors in several of Skopje’s constituent municipalities, where the highest participation so far has been reported in Karposh (22.14%) and Centar (21.58%).

According to the Interior Ministry, election day has been proceeding peacefully and without major incidents. On reflection day, Saturday, authorities received 10 reports of alleged violations in several regions, including Skopje, Ohrid, Shtip, Tetovo, and Bitola, though none were confirmed after on-site checks.

The ministry also reported 19 social media posts on the day before the elections that called for support for specific candidates or showed photos and videos from party activities held at headquarters. One person was detained in Skopje’s Shuto Orizari municipality for questioning over an incident involving the taking of photos of a ballot booklet.

A total of 1,013,375 people are eligible to cast their vote in Sunday’s second round of the local elections. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and will close at 7:00 p.m. local time.

In the first round of the local elections, mayors were elected in 44 municipalities. In four municipalities - Gostivar, Mavrovo-Rostusa, Vrapciste, and Centar Zupa - the mayoral elections failed. Once the final results for local government voting are announced, new elections will be called, as the turnout threshold of at least one-third of registered voters was not reached.