2014 Macedonian general election

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2014 Macedonian general election
Flag of North Macedonia.svg
Presidential election
  2009 13 April 2014 (first round)
27 April 2014 (second round)
2019  
Turnout48.87% (first round)
54.38% (second round)
  Gjorge Ivanov (2017-05-24) (cropped).jpg Stevo Pendarovski in January 2018.jpg
Nominee Gjorge Ivanov Stevo Pendarovski
Party VMRO-DPMNE SDSM
Popular vote534,910398,077
Percentage57.33%42.67%

President before election

Gjorge Ivanov
VMRO-DPMNE

Elected President

Gjorge Ivanov
VMRO-DPMNE

Parliamentary election
  2011 27 April 2014 2016  
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
VMRO-DPMNE coalition Nikola Gruevski 44.4761+5
SDSM coalition Zoran Zaev 26.2234−8
BDI Ali Ahmeti 14.1919+4
PDSh Menduh Thaçi 6.137−1
GROM Stevčo Jakimovski 2.921New
RDK Rufi Osmani  [ sq ]1.641−1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after
Nikola Gruevski
VMRO-DPMNE
Nikola Gruevski
VMRO-DPMNE

General elections [a] were held in the Republic of Macedonia in April 2014 to elect the President and members of parliament. The first round of the presidential elections were held on 13 April, with incumbent president Gjorge Ivanov finishing first with 53% of the vote. However, as he did not receive the support of 50% of all registered voters, a second round was held on 27 April, alongside parliamentary elections, with Ivanov and the ruling coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE claiming victory as Ivanov was elected president and the VMRO-DPMNE won 61 of the 123 seats in the Assembly. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

The parliamentary elections were brought forward to coincide with the presidential election following the failure of coalition partners VMRO-DPMNE and DUI to agree on a combined presidential candidate. [3]

President

Candidates

The incumbent president Gjorge Ivanov, supported by the governing party, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), successfully nominated himself for reelection after collecting 63,253 signatures from citizens. [4] The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) candidate Stevo Pendarovski was nominated by the signatures of the opposition parties' members of parliament. [5] Other candidates nominated by over 10,000 signatures included Zoran T. Popovski from the Citizen Option for Macedonia (GROM), and Ilijaz Halimi  [ bg ] from the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA). [6] [7]

Campaign

The first round of the presidential election was held on 13 April. The candidates were Gjorge Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE), Stevo Pendarovski (SDSM), Ilijaz Halimi (DPA), and Zoran Popovski (GROM). The ethnic Albanian party Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), a junior coalition member, campaigned for boycott of the presidential election, opposing VMRO-DPMNE's decision to run Ivanov for reelection. [8]

SDSM's Pendarovski controversially visited Pristina where he criticised the government policies in terms of foreign policy and that Albania has the highest GDP in the region despite reports by institutions and other politicians saying it was Macedonia. [9]

Parliament

Parties and coalitions

Fourteen political parties and coalitions contested the election, having submitted candidate lists for MPs in at least one of the six constituencies within the country and the three in the diaspora. Three among them, namely, VMRO-DPMNE, SDSM and DUI, submitted their candidate lists in all nine constituencies. [10]

VMRO-DPMNE

The VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition consisted of 22 parties: VMRO-DPMNE, the Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), the Democratic Union (DS), Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM), the Democratic Party of Turks (DPTM), the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia (DPSM), the Union of Roma in Macedonia (SRM), the United Party for Emancipation (OPE), the Party of Justice (PP), the Party of the Democratic Action of Macedonia  [ sv ] (SDAM), the Party of the Vlachs of Macedonia (PVM), the Party for Integration of the Roma  [ mk; sv ] (PIR), the Bosniak Democratic Party  [ sv ] (BDP), Democratic Forces of the Roma  [ mk; sv ] (DSR), Permanent Macedonian Radical Unification  [ mk ] (TMRO), the New Liberal Party  [ mk ] (NLP), the People's Movement for Macedonia  [ mk ] (NDM), VMRO–Democratic Party  [ mk ], VMRO-United, Fatherland's Macedonian Organisation for Radical Renewal–Vardar–Aegean–Pirin  [ mk ] (TMORO–VEP), Macedonian Alliance  [ mk ] (MA), and VMRO–Macedonian. [11]

SDSM

The SDSM-led coalition included nine parties; the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, the New Social Democratic Party (NDSP), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), United for Macedonia (OM), the Party for the Movement of Turks in Macedonia  [ mk; sv ] (PDT), the Party for the Full Emancipation of the Roma of Macedonia (PCER), the Serbian Party in Macedonia  [ mk ] (SSM), the Democratic Union of the Vlachs of Macedonia (DSVM), and the Sandžak List  [ mk ] (SL). [11]

GROM

The Citizen Option for Macedonia (GROM)-led alliance consisted of the Citizen Option for Macedonia, the Liberal Party, the Serbian Progressive Party in Macedonia, the Union of Tito's Left Forces, and the Party of Free Democrats. [11]

Campaign

SDSM's Zoran Zaev said that the election was about "choosing whether [the country] will support the fight for freedom and the right to a better life, or continue with state robbery." [12] Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said: "We need a majority so nobody can blackmail us and we can keep up with the programme...that would lead Macedonia into the EU and NATO." [3]

Opinion polls

President

Poll sourceDateSample size Ivanov
VMRO-DPMNE
Pendarovski
SDSM
Halimi  [ bg ]
DPA
Popovski
GROM
NoneUndecided
Center for Information and Research (CIG) [13] March 20142,40029.3%19.4%6.1%-8.7%35%
Center for Research and Analysis [14] March 20141,83942.2%19.7%5.2%5.4%9.1%18.4%
Election Results13 April 2014869,13751.7%37.5%2.2%1.8%

Parliament

Poll sourceDateSample size VMRO-DPMNE SDSM DUI DPA NDR GROM
Dimitrija Čupovski [15] January 20141,530593615712
Dimitrija Čupovski [16] April 20141,500633115101

Conduct

The second round of the election had accreditations given to 9,952 domestic and 550 foreign observers, as well as 283 translators, according to the State Election Commission. [17]

The United States and European Union publicly urged political leaders to ensure the election was "credible and transparent," amidst complains by the SDSM. [12]

Results

President

In second round voting, centres were open from 5:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT. Turnout was reported as 9.58% in the first three hours. [12] Gjorge Ivanov was re-elected with 57% of the valid vote. [18] Following the election, Stevo Pendarovski called for an investigation of the election by external observers. [19]

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Gjorge Ivanov VMRO-DPMNE 449,44253.13534,91057.33
Stevo Pendarovski Social Democratic Union 326,16438.56398,07742.67
Ilijaz Halimi  [ bg ] Democratic Party of Albanians 38,9664.61
Zoran T. Popovski Citizen Option for Macedonia 31,3683.71
Total845,940100.00932,987100.00
Valid votes845,94097.28932,98796.41
Invalid/blank votes23,6772.7234,7073.59
Total votes869,617100.00967,694100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,779,57248.871,779,57254.38
Source: SEC,SEC

Parliament

The incumbent government, led by VMRO-DPMNE, received 44% of the vote to claim victory ahead of SDSM with 26% and DUI with 14%. The 123 seats in the Assembly were won by six political parties and coalitions with the VMRO-DPMNE coalition winning 61 seats, the SDSM coalition winning 34 seats, DUI winning 19 seats, DPA winning 7 seats and GROM and NDP winning 1 seat each. [20]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
VMRO-DPMNE coalition 481,61544.4761+5
Social Democratic Union coalition 283,95526.2234−8
Democratic Union for Integration 153,64614.1919+4
Democratic Party of Albanians 66,3936.137−1
Citizen Option for Macedonia coalition31,6102.921New
National Democratic Revival 17,7831.641−1
VMRO – People's Party 16,7721.5500
Coalition for a Positive Macedonia [lower-alpha 1] 10,5660.980New
Dignity for Macedonia Coalition [lower-alpha 2] 9,2650.860New
Social Democratic Party 4,7000.4300
Party for a European Future 3,1940.290New
Popular Movement for Macedonia  [ mk ]1,9250.180New
Party for Economic Change 21  [ mk ]1,2810.120New
Party for Democratic Prosperity 3850.0400
Total1,083,090100.001230
Valid votes1,083,09096.64
Invalid/blank votes37,6543.36
Total votes1,120,744100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,780,12862.96
Source: SEC

Reactions

After voting ended the SDSM's Zoran Zaev said that "SDSM and our opposition coalition will not recognise the election process, neither the presidential nor the parliamentary." He accused the government of "abusing the entire state system." [21] It followed reports that Gruevski had warned that the SDSM was preparing, as an alibi, to react in such a manner to the election because they were due to lose the election. [22]

Notes

Related Research Articles

Politics in North Macedonia occur within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated North Macedonia a "flawed democracy" in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Democratic Union of Macedonia</span> Political party in North Macedonia

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia is a social-democratic political party, and the main centre-left party in North Macedonia. The party is pro-European.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Union for Integration</span> Albanian minority political party in North Macedonia

The Democratic Union for Integration is the largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia and the third largest political party in the country. It was formed immediately after the country's 2001 armed conflict between the National Liberation Army and Macedonian security forces. NLA founder Ali Ahmeti has been the party's president ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of North Macedonia</span> Head of state of North Macedonia

The president of the Republic of North Macedonia is the head of state of North Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of North Macedonia</span> Head of government of North Macedonia

The prime minister of North Macedonia, officially the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, is the head of government of North Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Macedonian parliamentary election</span>

Early parliamentary elections were held in Macedonia on 1 June 2008, after the Assembly voted to dissolve itself on 12 April 2008. The result was a victory for the VMRO-DPMNE-led alliance, which won 63 of the 120 seats in the Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Macedonian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Macedonia in 2009. The first round was held on 22 March, alongside local elections. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off round was held on 5 April 2009, which was won by Gjorge Ivanov of the center-right VMRO-DPMNE party. Incumbent President Branko Crvenkovski did not stand for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gjorge Ivanov</span> President of North Macedonia from 2009 to 2019

Gjorge Ivanov is a Macedonian politician, who served as the 4th President of North Macedonia from 2009 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Macedonian parliamentary election</span>

Early parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Macedonia on 5 June 2011, a year earlier than necessary. All 123 parliamentary seats of the Sobranie were due for election, including the 3 seats provided for the first time for representatives of the Macedonian citizens living abroad: 1 from Europe, 1 from North America, and 1 from Asia and Australia. The decision of the ruling parties, the Christian Democratic VMRO-DPMNE and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), to dissolve the Parliament and call for an early election was preceded by protests of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), the major opposition party, and subsequent boycott of the Parliament by them, and by other smaller opposition parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoran Zaev</span> Former prime minister of North Macedonia

Zoran Zaev is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Nikola Gruevski IV</span>

The fourth Cabinet of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is the Republic of Macedonia Government cabinet announced on 19 June 2014. It is the 11th cabinet of the Republic of Macedonia. Gruevski's second cabinet was formed following the April 2014 election won by the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE.

The following lists events that happened during 2014 in the Republic of Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Macedonian parliamentary election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Spasovski</span> 10th Prime Minister of North Macedonia

Oliver Spasovski is a Macedonian politician who is the current Minister of Internal Affairs since 30 August 2020 and previously from November 2015 to May 2016, September to December 2016 and May 2017 to January 2020. He is the general secretary of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM). He served as Prime Minister of North Macedonia from 3 January 2020 to 30 August 2020, following an agreement between the leaders of SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, Zoran Zaev and Hristijan Mickoski, to hold early parliamentary elections on 12 April 2020, which was rescheduled to 15 July 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Macedonian protests</span>

In April 2016, protests began in the Republic of Macedonia against the incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov and the government led by the interim Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party. Referred to by some as the Colorful Revolution, the protests started after the controversial decision by President Gjorge Ivanov to stop the investigation of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and dozens of politicians who were allegedly involved in a wiretapping scandal. The demonstrations were organized by "Protestiram" and supported by a coalition led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia and other opposition parties, in addition to the newly formed Levica demanding that the government resign and be replaced by a transitional government and that the parliamentary elections planned for 5 June 2016 be cancelled, on the grounds that the conditions for free and transparent elections were not in place. The government and its supporters, who had organized pro-government rallies, maintained that the elections on June 5 were the only solution to the political crisis, with some observers blaming the opposition for creating a "Ukraine scenario" in Macedonia.

Storming of the Macedonian Parliament, also known as Bloody Thursday occurred on 27 April 2017, when about 200 Macedonian nationalists stormed the Macedonian Parliament in reaction to the election of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. It was the biggest attack in history on a Macedonian institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 North Macedonian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in North Macedonia in 2019. Three candidates were on the ballot in the first round, held on 21 April: Stevo Pendarovski, supported by the ruling coalition led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, including the Democratic Union for Integration; Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the leading opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, and Blerim Reka, an independent supported by Albanian opposition parties Alliance for Albanians and Besa Movement. The first round did not result in an absolute majority for any candidate, with Pendarovski receiving the most votes. In the second round held on 5 May, Pendarovski defeated Siljanovska-Davkova with 54% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election</span>

Early parliamentary elections were held in North Macedonia on 15 July 2020. It was originally scheduled for November 2020, but Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called early elections after the European Council failed to come to an agreement on starting talks with North Macedonia on joining the European Union in October 2019. The election date was set for 12 April, but was postponed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitar Kovačevski</span> Former Prime Minister of North Macedonia

Dimitar Kovačevski is a Macedonian politician and economist who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from January 2022 to January 2024.

References

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