Macedonian presidential election, 2009
Encyclopedia
A presidential election was held in the Republic of Macedonia
on 22 March 2009, at the same time as local elections; a run-off round was held on 5 April 2009. Gjorge Ivanov , the candidate of the center-right VMRO–DPMNE party, won the election in the second round. The incumbent president
Branko Crvenkovski
did not stand for re-election.
1,792,082 registered voters had the right to vote at the presidential and local elections in Macedonia. According to the electoral law, the president is elected if he wins the votes of the majority of the registered voters in the first round; or, simple majority of the votes in the second round, in which the turnout must be over 40% of the registered voters.
There was a poll held in January 2009, before any names of candidates for president were made official, according to which 31.2% of the Macedonian citizens would vote for the candidate to be proposed by conservative party VMRO-DPMNE while 11.4% would give their vote to the candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
.
On 25 January 2009, the strongest party in the Macedonian parliament
, VMRO-DPMNE, appointed Gjorge Ivanov as the party's presidential candidate. On 26 January 2009, the biggest opposition party in the country, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, proposed the former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ljubomir Frčkoski
for presidential candidate. The other candidates were the independent
Ljube Boškoski
, New Democracy
leader Imer Selmani, Nano Ružin
from the Liberal Democratic Party
, Agron Buxhaku of the Democratic Union for Integration
and Mirushe Hoxha of the Democratic Party of Albanians
, the only female candidate.
In the first round, Ivanov strongly led in front of the other candidates with 35%, with Frčkoski getting 20% and coming in second place and advancing to the run-off. New Democracy's
Imer Selmani, who had been dubbed the "Macedonian Obama" for his ability to transcend the ethnic boundaries and appeal to ethnically Macedonian voters, as well, was by far the most successful candidate, gaining 15% of the vote and coming in third place, closely behind the independent Boškoski. 103 voting stations could not open due to heavy snowfall; voting was to be rescheduled there.
Nearly 7,000 Macedonian and 500 foreign observers monitored the vote at Macedonia's nearly 3,000 polling stations. A fair and democratic election has been seen as an important factor for Macedonia's induction to NATO and the European Union
.
Some days before the second round of the elections took place, VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Union for Integration agreed on supporting each other on both, the local and presidential elections.
In part due to the existence of many voters in the registers who have left Macedonia years ago and live abroad, and in part due to the lack of motivation for ethnic Albanians to participate in the second round, there were fears that the minimum turnout of 40% might not be met in the second round, invalidating the election.
The voter turnout in the second round was 42.61%, just over the legally required minimum of 40%.
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
on 22 March 2009, at the same time as local elections; a run-off round was held on 5 April 2009. Gjorge Ivanov , the candidate of the center-right VMRO–DPMNE party, won the election in the second round. The incumbent president
President of the Republic of Macedonia
The President of the Republic of Macedonia is the head of state of the Republic of Macedonia. The institution of the Presidency of the modern Republic of Macedonia began after the Macedonian declaration of independence on 8 September 1991. Its first president was Kiro Gligorov, the oldest president...
Branko Crvenkovski
Branko Crvenkovski
Branko Crvenkovski leads the Republic of Macedonia's largest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. He was Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2004, then President of the Republic of Macedonia from 2004 to 2009.Crvenkovski was...
did not stand for re-election.
1,792,082 registered voters had the right to vote at the presidential and local elections in Macedonia. According to the electoral law, the president is elected if he wins the votes of the majority of the registered voters in the first round; or, simple majority of the votes in the second round, in which the turnout must be over 40% of the registered voters.
There was a poll held in January 2009, before any names of candidates for president were made official, according to which 31.2% of the Macedonian citizens would vote for the candidate to be proposed by conservative party VMRO-DPMNE while 11.4% would give their vote to the candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia is a centre-left political party in the Macedonia.It is the successor of the League of Communists of Macedonia, the ruling party during the communist regime which ruled SR Macedonia as a constituent republic of SFR Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. The current...
.
On 25 January 2009, the strongest party in the Macedonian parliament
Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
The Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, the Assembly , has 123 members, elected for a four year term, by proportional representation from 6 electoral districts, each contributing 20 MPs.- Result :...
, VMRO-DPMNE, appointed Gjorge Ivanov as the party's presidential candidate. On 26 January 2009, the biggest opposition party in the country, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, proposed the former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ljubomir Frčkoski
Ljubomir Frčkoski
Professor Ljubomir Danailov Frčkoski is a Macedonian politician and former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia for the 2009 Macedonian presidential election...
for presidential candidate. The other candidates were the independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
Ljube Boškoski
Ljube Boškoski
Ljube Boškoski , known among his supporters as "Brother Ljube" , is a Macedonian politician and former Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia.He supervised an elite special operations tactical unit of the Macedonian police in his capacity as Minister of Internal...
, New Democracy
New Democracy (Macedonia)
New Democracy is a political party of the ethnic Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. It was founded in 2008 by former members of the Democratic Party of Albanians, another ethnic Albanian party from the Republic of Macedonia...
leader Imer Selmani, Nano Ružin
Nano Ružin
Nano Ružin is a Macedonian professor of political and social sciences, Ex-Macedonian Ambassador to Nato, and was the presidential candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party for the Macedonian presidential election in 2009, the first round of which took place on 22 March 2009.-Biography:Ružin...
from the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party (Republic of Macedonia)
The Liberal Democratic Party is a liberal party in the Republic of Macedonia. The Liberal Democratic Party was launched in April 1997 as a merger between the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party...
, Agron Buxhaku of the Democratic Union for Integration
Democratic Union for Integration
The Democratic Union for Integration is the largest Albanian political party in the Republic of Macedonia, and the third largest political party in all of Macedonia...
and Mirushe Hoxha of the Democratic Party of Albanians
Democratic Party of Albanians
The Democratic Party of Albanians or DPA is a political party of the ethnic Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. The DPA is a merger of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians and the People's Democratic Party which took place in June 1997...
, the only female candidate.
First round
A poll from February 2009 saw Ivanov at 27%, Frčkoski at 13%, Boškoski at 10%, Selmani at 9% and other candidates together at 18%. In a run-off, Ivanov would win over Frčkoski with 36% to 21%, with a large number of undecideds, however. A poll from shortly before the election saw Ivanov leading with 23.1% before Selmani with 13.3% and Frčkoski at 9.7%; 23.9% were undecided.In the first round, Ivanov strongly led in front of the other candidates with 35%, with Frčkoski getting 20% and coming in second place and advancing to the run-off. New Democracy's
New Democracy (Macedonia)
New Democracy is a political party of the ethnic Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. It was founded in 2008 by former members of the Democratic Party of Albanians, another ethnic Albanian party from the Republic of Macedonia...
Imer Selmani, who had been dubbed the "Macedonian Obama" for his ability to transcend the ethnic boundaries and appeal to ethnically Macedonian voters, as well, was by far the most successful candidate, gaining 15% of the vote and coming in third place, closely behind the independent Boškoski. 103 voting stations could not open due to heavy snowfall; voting was to be rescheduled there.
Nearly 7,000 Macedonian and 500 foreign observers monitored the vote at Macedonia's nearly 3,000 polling stations. A fair and democratic election has been seen as an important factor for Macedonia's induction to NATO and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Run-off
A new poll, that was held one week prior to the run-off, saw Ivanov in lead with 25.4% and Frčkoski at 13.8% (that is, 69% to 31% of decided voters).Some days before the second round of the elections took place, VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Union for Integration agreed on supporting each other on both, the local and presidential elections.
In part due to the existence of many voters in the registers who have left Macedonia years ago and live abroad, and in part due to the lack of motivation for ethnic Albanians to participate in the second round, there were fears that the minimum turnout of 40% might not be met in the second round, invalidating the election.
Results
There was no decisive winner of the Presidential Elections in the first round which took place on 22 March 2009. A second round was held on 5 April 2009, in which the runners were the first two candidates from the first round – Gjorge Ivanov and Ljubomir Frčkoski.The voter turnout in the second round was 42.61%, just over the legally required minimum of 40%.