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A polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, April 21, 2019 for the first round of presidential elections. REUTERS / Ognen Teofilovski

Stevo Pendarovski, 56, pro-Western candidate backed by the ruling coalition, led the first round of the Macedonian presidential election with 42.63% of the vote, Sunday, April 21, 2019, after counting almost all ballots. He will face in the second round the opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, 62, who obtained 42.39%. Participation rate: 41.9%.

There will be a second round in Skopje, where the two leading candidates on Sunday (April 21st) achieved very close scores, after a campaign marked by the deep divisions born of the change of name of their country, which became "Republic of Northern Macedonia "under an agreement with Greece , negotiated with the aim of getting closer to the European Union and NATO.

The centrist-social-democratic coalition of the SDSM and the DUI party representing the Albanian minority-came first. It had undertaken to respect the name change, a condition for Athens to no longer veto the country's integration into the EU and the Atlantic Alliance. The VMRO-DPMNE nationalist party, which supports Siljanovska-Davkova, opposes the agreement.

In North Macedonia, the presidency is an honorific function for the most part. However, the Head of State is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and signs laws passed by Parliament. The outgoing nationalist president, George Ivanov, refused to sign several texts passed by the deputies, notably concerning a greater place granted to the use of Albanian.

The Albanian minority as a referee

The second round of voting will take place on May 5th. The voters of Blerim Reka, who represented the second largest Albanian minority party, Besa, will serve as referees (11.5%). Out of 2.1 million inhabitants in North Macedonia, the Albanian minority represents between 20 and 25% of the population. It is imperative that they return to vote, otherwise the presidential election can not be validated.

The participation will have to be scrutinized, after a record rate of abstention in the first round, the strongest since independence in 1991 - a sign that the name change has struck among the 1.8 million voters. For whoever finishes in the lead is not sure of succeeding George Ivanov after his two terms; it will be necessary to reach the bar of the 40% participation rate, the required quorum.

" Voting is an honor, a right and a civic duty, " Social Democrat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev urged when casting his vote. Many fear in Skopje that the quorum is not reached and that a political crisis breaks out, with possible legislative elections, while North Macedonia hopes to open negotiations with the European Union in June 2019.

Greece objected, saying that "Macedonia" is the exclusive name of one of its provinces. But voters have social and economic aspirations first. They say they are worn out by the economic slump, corruption, nepotism and clientelism. The unemployment rate exceeds 20%, the average wage stagnates at 400 euros, and emigration, especially of young people, is very important.

► See also: In North Macedonia, Tsípras on a "historic" visit to Skopje