Pyrrhic victory in Macedonia

The snap parliamentary elections held in Macedonia on June 1 were meant to open the way to calm the continued unrest that had been troubling the small Balkan republic over the past months.

The elections were called after, on April 12, parliament in Skopje voted to dissolve itself. This followed an enduring crisis that had faced conservative prime minister Nikola Gruevski’s government, rooted in events from calls by the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) for more rights for ethnic Albanians, to a row over Macedonian slowness over whether to recognise Kosovo, and the Nato summit in Bucharest which saw Skopje failing to secure an invitation to join the alliance.

Announcing that the snap elections were to be held, Gruevski said that he hoped to win a healthier majority, to facilitate the implementation of intended reforms.

The outcome after June 1 appeared to be a fulfillment of Gruevski’s hopes. According to preliminary results, the VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition won 64 seats in the 120-MP Macedonian parliament, while the rival Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM)-led bloc did not manage to get even half of these and conceded defeat with 28 mandates.

Gruevski’s landslide victory secured him every politician’s dream – a majority in parliament so overwhelming as to ensure that all legislation and any action proposed by the government will be approved. However, as Radmila Sekerinska, the Social Democrat leader who resigned following her rout, put it, the cost Macedonia paid in these elections could prove too high. The unprecedented violence during the election campaign, followed by the turbulence on election day that led to at least one death and several injuries, could delay its entry into the European Union. In addition, Gruevski’s hard-line stand on the name dispute with neighbouring Greece could result in continued failure to bring Macedonia anywhere near Nato.

Election day violence led to voting being halted at a number of voting stations at the ethnic Albanian village of Aracinovo, north of the Macedonian capital city of Skopje, international news agencies reported. Twenty people were reported arrested after the Aracinovo shootings. Reuters said that Macedonian state news agency MIA had reported scuffles in several ethnic Albanian areas and that a small explosive device had been thrown at an empty cafe. A police source said officers had chased an unknown armed group until they came under fire in Aracinovo. Police retaliated and injured one of the gunmen.

These clashes, having taken place in the Albanian-inhabited regions of Macedonia, came as little surprise since the run-up to the elections was marred by violent incidents between supporters of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) party and its rival DPA. The shooting incident allegedly involved DUI members, and a DUI official rejected the police version, saying that interception of the group by plain-clothed police who had fired a shot into the air had led to chaos and further shooting.

Bulgaria’s Focus news agency reported that four people were wounded in a shooting at the Dame Gruev school, in Chair, an ethnic Albanian-populated area near Skopje.

There was also alleged election fraud, with claims of ballot boxes having been tampered with reportedly contributing to the outbreak of violent incidents. Allegedly, armed people had been threatening voters, the State Electoral Commission was quoted by Focus news agency as having told a news conference.

All this violence seriously undermined Macedonia’s position in the eyes of the international community.

“I deeply regret the violence which marred the elections. A day which should have been a peaceful demonstration of democratic values resulted instead in the loss of a life as well as injury to several people [...] Organised violence, intimidation and ballot stuffing in many places prevented citizens from exercising their democratic rights,” European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which monitored the elections, concluded that “key international standards were not met [...], as organised attempts to violently disrupt the electoral process in parts of the ethnic Albanian areas made it impossible for voters in many places to freely express their will”.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry also declared its stance. The atmosphere in which snap parliamentary elections were held in Macedonia required all political parties in the country to assume their share of the “responsibility”, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dimitar Tsanchev said in a statement.

In an attempt to mollify the severe criticism, Gruevski promised to hold a re-run of elections in areas where violence had prevented them being conducted peacefully. Scheduled for June 15, the re-run is bound to determine the West’s attitude to Macedonia, as it is a chance to either improve its current image and raise hopes for co-operation, or to permanently brand it a state that is shaky, turbulent and torn by ethnic rivalries.

“It is imperative that these re-runs are held in line with international standards [...] I underline that holding free and fair elections is an essential part of the political criteria of the EU accession process,” Rehn said.

In the meantime, Gruevski will spend some time deciding (or pretending he is deciding) which of the two rival Albanian parties to take on board in the next cabinet. Technically he needs none, but this way he can integrate the Albanians in the government of Macedonia, show ethnic tolerance and strengthen his majority. Although the DUI managed to collect a few more votes than the DPA, the two parties each won an equal number of seats in parliament – 13.

Gruevski’s obvious choice might be his current coalition partner, the DPA, but he clearly did not want to make hurried commitments. However, he said that, first, he will not hold any coalition talks before the re-runs and, second, he will ally with the Albanian party that has won the most votes, website Balkan Insight reported, quoting Gruevski as telling local A1 TV that “VMRO-DPMNE will enter a coalition with the one Albanian party that wins [the polls] among Albanians in a fair and democratic way”.

A Balkan Belgium?

A FASHIONABLE idea is circulating among Balkan-watchers: “Belgianisation”. This is not meant to suggest complex federalism. Instead it implies that different nationalities whom history has left sharing a state are at last behaving like Belgians, reaching for ballot boxes and courts, rather than guns and bombs.

The Macedonian election on June 1st was condemned by observers for not meeting international standards. One person died in a shoot-out with police; several others were injured; and irregularities were reported at several polling stations. Yet it does not disprove the Belgian theory.

A quarter of Macedonia's 2m people are ethnic Albanians. In 2001 they skirted perilously close to civil war. Now, although no love is lost between the two sides, there is no violence between them. The election-day problems and reports of intimidation were entirely among Albanians. That is not good, but also not as bad as it could have been.

Macedonia's election was called after NATO's Bucharest summit in April, when Greece blocked its invitation to join alongside Albania and Croatia. Ever since Macedonian independence in 1991, Greece has tried to stop it being called by its name, insisting that it implies territorial claims to Greek Macedonia. That is why Macedonia labours under the name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM, in most international gatherings.

Recently the name issue, which had been dormant, was raised again. Skopje's airport was renamed Alexander the Great, a main reason why the angry Greeks blocked Macedonia's NATO bid. The Greeks now say they will prevent any movement towards European Union accession as well. Macedonia is an official EU candidate but it has not been given a date to start membership negotiations.

Drive into Macedonia from Kosovo and it is clear why the issue needs to be resolved. From the border to the Vardar river, which runs through Skopje, all the election posters have been for Macedonian Albanian political parties, and all flags Albanian. Cross the river and you might be in a different country. All posters are for Macedonian parties and all flags are Macedonian. Once the name is settled, Macedonia can join NATO and later the EU. Nobody could then question its statehood.

If the name continues to poison the region, says Veton Latifi, a political scientist in the main ethnic-Albanian town of Tetovo, politicians will set “new agendas” for the country. By this he really means old ones: a Greater Albania or a Greater Kosovo, and who knows what for the rest of the country. Yet the election gave ground for hope. Nikola Gruevski, prime minister and leader of the centre-right ruling party, gambled on an early poll and won. The coalition led by his party gained an absolute majority in parliament. And though it needs an Albanian partner for comfort, he can “no longer be held hostage” as he was before by his Albanian allies or anyone else, says Ana Petruseva, assistant editor of Balkan Insight, a website.

Three questions arise. Which of the two Albanian parties will Mr Gruevski invite into government? Will he be strong enough to do a deal with Greece over the name and steer it through a referendum? And biggest of all: is Greece interested in a deal or is it happy for its companies to invest profitably in its northern neighbour while keeping it dependent on Greek goodwill for its NATO and EU aspirations? After all, only the EU (and euro) membership holds Belgium together nowadays.

NATO urges Macedonia to address electoral shortfalls

NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer is deeply concerned by the OSCE Observer Mission's preliminary conclusions that the 1 June elections in Macedonia did not meet key international standards.

The Mission assessed that, despite many positive elements, election day was marred by violent incidents, intimidation and ballot stuffing in predominantly ethnic areas.

"Countries working towards NATO membership must make every effort to meet the democratic standards of the Alliance. Active steps should be taken to address the security and electoral shortfalls, in particular in the context of the repeat of voting to take place in districts where the electoral process had to be halted," Secretary General said in a statement.

NATO will carefully assess the OSCE Observer Mission's final conclusions, once the process is complete.

Macedonia Opposition Leader Steps Down

Radmila Sekerinska, the leader of the main Macedonian opposition party, the Social Democrats, is stepping down after losing the general election.

“If the party looses someone must take the responsibility. I think that should be the leader,” Sekerinska told local Alfa TV arguing that her stepping down would help the party to consolidate quicker.

Sekerinska said her decision is final. “My career cannot be more important than the success of the party in the next elections.”

The Social Democrats lost the snap polls on Sunday by winning only half of the votes than the ruling centre-right VMRO DPMNE party did. The party won even less seats in parliament than the last polls in 2006.

During the election campaign, Sekerinska promised to secure NATO membership and obtain a recommendation for the start of European Union accession talks in six months.

Sekerinska took over the party after the Social Democrats lost the elections in 2006.

She has been a long standing prominent member of the party for many years serving two parliamentary mandates.

Sekerinska was deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs in the government of Hari Kostov. During her term, the European Council in December 2005 granted Macedonia candidate status.

Media speculate that the current vice president of the party Igor Ivanovski and the mayor of the south-eastern town of Strumica are the most likely candidates to succeed Sekerinska.

The preliminary official election results show that the Social Democrats won about 230,000 votes opposed to the ruling VMRO DPMNE which picked up more than 480,000 votes.

Macedonia removes visa requirements for Australian citizens

At todays last Government session, Macedonia voted a decision to remove all visa requirements for Australian citizens.

As noted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this law was to facilitate and adapt to the EU laws for Australian citizens. This law will also help both countries to strengthen their political and economic ties, says in MoFA's report.

Considering the fact that large percent of Australian citizens who visit Macedonia are of Macedonian descent, with this step their entrance in Macedonia will become simpler and smoother.

Gruevski: No deadline for Kosovo recognition

Macedonia has no deadline to recognize Kosovo and will not make a decision about this under anyone's pressure, Grueski, whose VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition triumphed in the Sunday vote, winning more than half of all seats in the new Macedonian parliament.

When Beta news agency's reporter in Skopje asked the Macedonian premier how the government plans to withstand pressure from the two ethnic Albanian parties to immediately recognize the unilateral secession, he answered that his government "does not make decisions under pressure".

"Pressure, and strong pressure at that, existed, but Macedonia has her state interests, policy, arguments, partners, there's the EU and NATO. We are not indifferent to pressure, but we do not make decisions under it," Grueski explained.

Asked to explicitly say whether there was a deadline for Skopje to make the recognition, he answered, "there are no deadlines".

As for the controversial border demarcation with Kosovo, envisaged under the Ahtisaari document, but rejected by Belgrade, he said Macedonia could have ended this ahead of schedule, but that it was his feeling that "the other [Kosovo Albanian] side is not overly interested".

Belgrade's request to be included in this process, Grueski said, is not up to Macedonia to consider, because his country "is not a factor that can independently make a decision on this", but that, "if the international community decides to, it will be put up for consideration".

Asked to appraise the situation in the region in the context of election violence in Macedonia, a likely deterioration of relations with Serbia in case of a Kosovo recognition, and Serbia's problems putting together a new government, Grueski said that the Balkans has always been turbulent, and continues to be such today.

"There are always goings-on in the Balkans that baffle western politicians and analysts. We must try to reduce the number of such occurrences and events and to, through mutual understanding and tolerance, intensively prepare for Euro-Atlantic integrations, in other words, for EU and NATO membership," he said.

The Macedonian prime minister added that his government was unsure which of the possible cabinets in Serbia – a Radical or a Democrat-led– would prove to be a better partner.

"I don't know which one we would cooperate better with, since we know one [side] well, unlike the other. Still, since our government is strongly oriented toward Euro-Atlantic integrations, any cabinet in Serbia along the same lines will be our partner that we will have more understanding for," Grueski told the news agency.

Reacting to yesterday's Kosovo assembly speaker Jakup Krasniqi's comments that Macedonian elections were not free and that the ballot's results should be annulled, the Macedonian prime minister said that although he did not hear this statement earlier, "if it proves to be correct, it comes from people who have insufficient knowledge of the Macedonian circumstances , and myself as premier".

Gruevski stressed that trouble during the voting over the weekend, that included several shooting incidents and one fatality, occurred "only on two percent of the territory" and in ethnic Albanian regions of the country, and voiced hope that revotes in some polling stations in two weeks' time will be conducted peacefully.

The prime minister also addressed Macedonia's long standing dispute with Greece over the country's constitutional name. Although his party's coalition will have the absolute majority of 64 seats in the Sobranie – Macedonia's parliament – this is an issue to be solved through a joint platform of the government and the opposition, he said.

"The solution to the name dispute is not only up to us, but to Greece also. In theory, Greece can keep its veto on Macedonia's NATO membership for as long is it wants, but this is not good for Greece, either, as the alliance's member."

"Greece can keep asking for new conditions, but we will not accept a solution that would jeopardize our national identity," Grueski concluded.

A Huge Victory and a Huge Shame

The Sunday national vote brought a huge victory for ruling VMRO, but also a huge embarrassment for Macedonia.The numerous violent incidents which took place on election day, and even cost human life, pushed the country back on its European path

The Sunday national vote brought a huge victory for ruling VMRO, but also a huge embarrassment for Macedonia.

Macedonia failed to organize free and fair elections, said all international observers. The numerous violent incidents which took place on election day, and even cost human life, pushed the country back on its European path.

In the gravest incident of the day, a man was shot dead in a fire exchange between a group of activists of the opposition Democratic Union of Integration (DUI) of Ali Ahmeti and the special police unit Alfa, in the village of Aracinovo near Skopje. Reportedly, the shooting and car chase started after the police had tried to intervene and prevent voting irregularities.

In another incident, at least five persons, some of who bystanders, were injured in shooting in front of a polling station in Cair, part of Skopje. One of them, a 23-year old man, took a bullet in the stomach and is fighting for his life.

Police arrested Agim Krasnici, a known offender close to the ruling Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) of Menduh Taci, together with several other men, after they stopped them in cars full of machine guns and bombs. They also had a rocket launcher and seven packs of marihuana. The detained reportedly said they were on a mission to prevent vote stealing by opponent DUI.

Around 30 persons overall have been detained in relation to incidents on Sunday.

Aracinovo, sul luogo della sparatoria

Election irregularities included the usual group voting, stealing, “packing” or destroying of ballot boxes, and intimidation of voters. In some places incidents were taking place in front of the very eyes of international observers and the diplomatic core in the country.

“People felt proud of the fraud they committed and this is what shocked us most as observers. They didn’t hide”, said US Ambassador to Macedonia, Ms. Gillian Milovanovic.

Throughout Monday Macedonia was subject to the synchronized rebuke by the international factor. The bottom line is – the country failed the test.

OSCE ODIHR gave its preliminary assessment yesterday: Macedonia failed to meet the international standards in free and fair elections.

By and large incidents took place in the Albanian camp, between arch-rivals DUI and DPA, and were limited to several communities notorious for high crime rates, but this is still a lousy excuse for the country.

“You need to take every effort to prosecute not just the perpetrators but also the initiators of the violence”, said the European Union Ambassador to Skopje, Mr. Ervan Fuere.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had a phone conversation with Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday and promised him every effort to have the rerun, in the places where voting had been suspended due to irregularities, free and fair.

As much as Macedonia had clearly failed, the international factor underscored the final assessment would also depend on how the country deals with the irregularities and how it completes the rerun, where needed.

“We will observe your efforts to deal with the incidents. This will be the focus of our attention and the final report will depend on what is being done in the period until and during the rerun”, said ODIHR chief Mr. Robert Barry.

Sostenitori del VMRO

Beyond the shame which will follow the country for some time to come, and will definitely reflect in the European Commission’s progress report this autumn, the elections as predicted brought a landslide victory for ruling VMRO.

The VMRO coalition led by Prime Minister Gruevski won 64 seats in parliament, out of the total of 120. This means that Mr. Gruevski is looking ahead to 4 more years of stable majority in parliament.

A victory of this magnitude is unprecedented in Macedonia’s short history of political pluralism. The VMRO coalition won around 480.000 votes, or around 170.000 more than in the 2006 elections, when it also carried victory.

The opposition party in the Macedonian camp, the social democrats (SDSM) won 28 seats.

In the Albanian camp, to some surprise with respect to the poll predictions, DPA and DUI came out even, with both winning 13 seats. Polls have been predicting a steady lead for DUI.

One seat went to Albanian PDP, and 1 to the multiethnic Party for European Future (PEI) of Mr. Fiat Canevski.

Some changes in the mandates are to be expected with the rerun in two weeks time, but they cannot be substantial.

The turnout at around 58% was around 3 percent higher than in 2006.

Mr. Gruevski got exactly what he wanted from these first ever early elections in Macedonia - a more stable majority which would allow him to proceed with his program. He will also have to deliver. In his own words, but also everybody else’s, with great power comes great responsibility.

Mr. Gruevski would likely want to form a coalition with his traditional Albanian partner, DPA. This would mean 4 more years in opposition for DUI, which originally insisted on having an early vote.

In 2006 DUI won the majority in the Albanian camp but VMRO chose to form a government with DPA instead, their traditional partner. This angered DUI and caused a political crisis.

It is to be expected that both DPA and DUI would fight hard in the rerun for the vote that is still to be accounted for. If DUI would prevail, it could again claim that it is the legitimate victor of the Albanian vote. DPA would definitely try to prevent this. This might cause further incidents. It better not.

Macedonia already lost a lot in these elections.

Scenarios for Macedonia after election

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski won re-election on Sunday but monitors criticized violence that marred the poll and could delay the country's progress towards European Union membership.

Here are some scenarios for what could happen next in the country, which broke peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991 but came close to full-scale ethnic war 10 years later.

RE-VOTE

- Western election monitors described the election as flawed but said violence and fraud were limited to ethnic Albanian areas. Their decision to defer judgment on the entire election until after repeat votes in troubled areas gives the country some breathing space, but will also require the government and Albanian parties to overcome rivalries and work closely to ensure a smooth, peaceful re-run.

COALITION TALKS

- Gruevski will seek an ethnic Albanian party as his coalition partner, partly to strengthen his majority in the 120-seat assembly and partly in the spirit of a 2001 peace deal that sought to enfranchise Albanians and bring them into the political mainstream. His partner in the outgoing coalition, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), has been compromised by reports of violence and fraud targeting their competitors for the Albanian vote, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

A repeat alliance with the DPA would be an easy option for Gruevski but could cast a shadow over the legitimacy of his government. It would take more effort and concessions for him to ally with the DUI, which holds a grudge for being left out of government in 2006.

EU REACTION

- Before the vote, Brussels said the election was a test Macedonia must pass to start European Union accession talks. The reserved verdict of the monitors gives some room to the EU, which would be reluctant to sink the country's hopes of an imminent start to talks for fear of creating more instability.

The next progress report on Macedonia is due later this year, and its tone could depend on several variables: the regional situation, especially the outcome of coalition negotiations in Serbia and the mood in newly-independent Kosovo, the level of tension in the country itself, and the willingness of Greece to defer until later its threatened veto on Macedonia's EU progress for the sake of stability.

NAME DISPUTE WITH GREECE

- By handing Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party the healthiest majority in parliament in over a decade, voters effectively mandated him to hold firm in the 17-year row with Greece over Macedonia's name.

Polls show ethnic Macedonians would refuse to give up their identity and change the name which the country shares with a neighboring Greek province. Ethnic Albanians are urging a compromise with Athens to avoid more snubs like the blocking of Macedonia's NATO bid in April.

Gruevski will have to walk a fine line between catering to the patriotism of his core voters and playing hardball that could exasperate the West and anger Albanians.

ECONOMIC MALAISE

- Macedonia was the poorest republic of the former Yugoslavia and remains behind in terms of attracting foreign investment, partly due to the general image of the Balkans as unstable but mainly because its progress towards EU membership depends as much on Greece as it does on its own efforts.

The Sunday violence may cause some investors to pause and reconsider any business plans for the country, at least until the dust settles and the EU gives a firm, promising signal.

Albanian rivalries now main worry for Macedonia

The bullet-scarred walls of this village outside the Macedonian capital are a reminder of how close the former Yugoslav republic came to full-scale ethnic war in 2001.

Twin white minarets rise from its unfinished mosque and a large illuminated cross stands on the mountain overlooking nearby Skopje, where Christian Macedonians and Muslim Albanians co-exist.

Aracinovo, however, is an all-Albanian community and a shootout in which one man was killed over voting irregularities during a parliamentary election on Sunday had nothing to do with ethnic hostility.

Seven years after NATO and the European Union engineered the withdrawal of separatist guerrillas from Aracinovo, witnesses say the shooting was more to do with the internecine violence that permeates Albanian politics.

For while the 2001 conflict pitted ethnic Macedonians against ethnic Albanians, this latest violence involves Macedonia's two rival Albanian parties, which are separated by a gulf of enmity and distrust.

On Sunday, a man with a Kalashnikov told voters at one Aracinovo polling station to go home, because it was already closed. That was just after the station opened, and his men were inside stuffing the ballot box, say Albanian party sources.

Police named him as Agim Krasniqi, a guerrilla turned crime lord with his own fiefdom in the hills to the north.

Such violence and divisions among Albanians are a problem for Macedonian conservative leader Nikola Gruevksi, who won a convincing majority in the election and needs to restore his country's image to keep it on a path to the EU and NATO.



TOP PARTY

This year has been difficult for Macedonia. The Albanians of neighbouring Kosovo declared an independent state, and Macedonia was denied the stabilising effect of an invitation to join NATO due to a dispute with Greece over its name.

Western powers are anxious. They managed to persuade Macedonians and Albanians in 2001 to pursue prosperity as citizens of a stable, multi-ethnic state anchored to the West, in the chronically turbulent Balkans.

In that year, Macedonia's Social Democrats and the party of former guerrilla leader Ali Ahmeti signed the Ohrid Agreement extending greater rights to the country's 25 percent Albanian minority. They made a coalition pact. Peace was restored.

Five years later, Ahmeti's party again garnered the lion's share of Albanian votes in a parliamentary election but Macedonia's victorious conservatives surprisingly turned to his smaller rival, led by Mendhuh Thaci, to form the new coalition.

Sunday's violence, involving a figure reputedly close to Thaci, showed Thaci was not fit for government, said an Ahmeti spokesman. Thaci says Ahmeti's 2001 'war' was only about grabbing power, not Albanian rights.

"Thaci almost produced the bloodbath he had promised, with the help of the Interior Ministry and Alpha Units," the Ahmeti spokesman said, referring to an elite police unit involved in the shooting.

But Ahmeti's party had once again beaten Thaci's, he said, and it would renew its claim to a place in the next government as the strongest representative of the national minority.

Prime Minister Gruevski's efforts to keep Macedonia on the path to EU and NATO membership could depend on securing the support of an Albanian partner who can guarantee peace.

But either Thaci or Ahmeti seem destined to end up in opposition and, with weapons in plentiful supply, the loser may see instability as offering greater political potential than loyalty.

As the upsurge of fighting in 2001 showed, the fastest way to provoke it is to attack the Macedonian police.

PDP announces merger with DPA

The Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP) announced today in Tetovo merger with the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), Makfax's correspondent reported.

The news was made public by the parties' leaders Adbuljadi Vejseli and Menduh Thaci, pointing out that "the oldest political subject in the country is consigned to history."

The initiative came after the two parties concluded that they would garner more seats in the new parliament if they joined forces.

"Today, we set out a new initiative for unification of the two political parties - PDP and DPA. It will happen very soon, perhaps within days, therefore, DPA and its leader Menduh Thaci are welcome to use our votes," Vejseli said.

"We have a joint initiative for merging of these two parties. I believe the parties' bodies would make positive decisions. Everything is clear," Menduh Thaci added at a joint press conference.

PDP was formed in 1990 as the first party of the Albanians in Macedonia. In February 1994, Arben Xhaferi's faction broke off to give birth to the Party of Democratic Prosperity of Albanians. The new political subject was registered in 1995, to change its name into Democratic Party of Albanians in 1997.

Ruling Party Wins In Violence-Tainted Parliamentary Vote

Electoral Commission officials say that with 97 percent of the vote counted, Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party won 48 percent of the vote. The opposition Social Democrats (SDSM) finished a distant second with 23 percent, followed by the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) with 11 percent, and the Democratic Party of Albanians (dpa) with 10 percent.

The poll was marred by violence in the country's ethnic Albanian areas between supporters of the rival DUI and dpa. Authorities suspended voting in 22 polling stations due to allegations of fraud and intimidation.

Re-votes will be held in these precincts, which make up only a small portion of the electorate, but could affect the final balance between the two main Albanian parties.

In claiming victory, Gruevski also acknowledged the vote was far from problem-free.

"Now we can say that Macedonia's rebirth continues," Gruevski said. "I would like to congratulate all citizens for today's elections. In most polling places in Macedonia, we had fair and democratic elections. Unfortunately, in some areas, there were incidents and some irregular voting. VMRO-DPMNE and the Coalition for Better Macedonia will do everything in our authority to hold re-votes in these places so that every member of parliament will be chosen in a fair and democratic way."

Fueled By Anger Over Greece

Elections weren't expected until 2010. But analysts say that with a high approval rating, Gruevski was looking to seal four more years for his ruling coalition. Observers see his victory as fueled by anger over Greece blocking Macedonia's NATO membership invitation at the alliance's April summit in Bucharest.

Hundreds of the prime minister's supporters celebrated in central Skopje, waving flags and chanting Gruevski's name.

The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Radmila Sekerinska, congratulated Gruevski, but added that due to the violence, "the price Macedonia had to pay was too high."

Macedonia is seeking to join the European Union, in addition to NATO, and the West is alert to any instability in the volatile Balkan country.

Sekerinska added that SDSM did well considering what she called its disadvantage in paid advertising.

"Even with a five-to-one disadvantage in paid political advertising on television, it was still possible to get citizens, one by one, to get on the side of [SDSM]," she said. "I would like to show them that this is a team that is moving forward. This is a team that says, 'That which doesn't defeat us will only make us stronger.' "

One man was killed and nine wounded in violence among ethnic Albanians on election day. Gunfire halted voting in one town. Ballot boxes went missing. Two election officials were held briefly by gunmen before being freed unharmed by police.

International observers are expected to present their assessment of the vote on June 2.

Animosity between the two ethnic Albanian parties has been intensifying since elections in 2006, when the DUI -- which won more ethnic Albanian votes -- were left out of Gruevski's coalition government in favor of the rival dpa.

Not Recognize Results

DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said due to the violence, his party would not recognize election results in seven municipalities, including in the main ethnic Albanian town of Tetovo. He also accused police of colluding with his rivals.

"I would like to underline that those criminal groups have had the support of police and state structures," he said. "So the state cannot avoid responsibility [for the violence]."

Dpa leader Menduh Taci, meanwhile, urged the DUI to recognize the election results. Taci addressed his supporters at a rally in Tetovo as music blared from loudspeakers, with supporters waving flags and shooting into the air.

"I think that DUI should recognize the results. I believe that in some places there should be a re-vote," he said. "I believe that from tomorrow we will have good relations with the opposition."

Gruevski's next task is to form a ruling coalition in the 120-seat parliament. The prime minister has said he prefers to continue his alliance with the dpa, despite the fact that it again finished behind the DUI -- a move which would further alienate that party's supporters.

Violence mars Macedonia poll

Macedonia's hopes of speedy Nato and EU membership were dealt a major blow when its parliamentary elections were hit by widespread violence.

At least one person was killed and several others wounded in gunbattles across the country.

The polling was also hit by allegations of fraud, intimidation and ballot box stuffing.

Most of the violence was between ethnic Albanians, whose two political parties have in recent years descended into a bitter feud. It forced Macedonia's electoral commission to suspend voting in up to 20 polling stations.

The bloodshed is a embarrassment for the Balkan nation, which came within a whisker of civil war in 2001. It was hoping flawless elections would prove its readiness to join the EU and Nato.

Instead, British MP Denis MacShane, who is an observer at the election, said results had been fatally compromised by the violence.

"No government can be formed as a result of this election," he said.

"New polls must be organised in all the districts where violence, intimidation and stuffing of ballot boxes have taken place."

The polls had been called two years early by conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in the wake of Macedonia's failure to secure Nato membership earlier this year.

Greece blocked Macedonia's Nato bid in April, after the two countries failed to find a solution to their long running dispute over the name Macedonia.

Ancient Macedonia, the homeland of Alexander the Great, stretched over territory which now falls largely within the borders of Greece and its northern neighbour.

Clear winner in Macedonia vote, guns still in play

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski scored an overwhelming election victory on Sunday but the violence that marred the poll may perpetuate divisions and delay the country's progress towards European Union membership.

Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party will have the healthiest majority in parliament in more than a decade, riding on a wave of nationalist anger over Greece blocking Macedonia's NATO membership invitation in April.

The victory vindicated Gruevski's controversial decision to call a snap election, gambling that the snub would strengthen his hand and pay off with a stronger four-year mandate.

But with one man dead and nine others wounded, some observers blamed Gruevski for ignoring the risk of violence among the 25-percent Albanian minority, divided between two hostile parties both with links to armed groups.

"We can expect a very bad report card," said analyst Dane Taleski. "We won't be getting a date for (EU) accession talks this year."

Though confined to Albanian areas, the violence could perpetuate a Western impression that, seven years after Macedonia was pulled back from the brink of all-out ethnic war, the Kalashnikov is still a part of the political process.

Newspapers ran headlines such as "Bloody Election" and "Macedonia fell into a bloodbath."

"Our fatherland said goodbye to good reason and to its EU and NATO ambitions," influential broadsheet Dnevnik said in an editorial. "If Athens vetoed us (at the NATO summit) in Bucharest, we vetoed ourselves in Aracinovo," he said.

Besides the gunfire, which halted voting in Aracinovo, ballot boxes went missing and two election officials were briefly held by gunmen, then rescued by police.

In 2001, the West used the lure of NATO and the EU to get Albanian guerrillas to disarm and join politics. But the community is now riven by disputes over who gets to share power.

The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) blamed the rival Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) -- Gruevski's partners in the outgoing coalition -- of colluding with the police on Sunday in "provocations, violence and psychological terror."

They have been on bad terms since 2006, when the DUI, the most popular Albanian party, was left out of the government.

"HIGH PRICE"

Radmila Sekerinska, head of the opposition Social-Democratic Union, conceded defeat but said "the price Macedonia had to pay is too high."

The West is alert to any instability in the Balkans so soon after the February secession of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians from Serbia, the latest shudder in a region torn apart by the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

In an ominous echo of 2001, police in armored cars rushed to the bullet-scarred town of Aracinovo after monitors reported the arrival of men with machine guns. They came under fire and retaliated, killing one gunman and injuring two others.

But the DUI said plain-clothes police started the shooting. Among a dozen men arrested later was a notorious veteran of the "Albanian National Army" of 2001, who has links to the DPA.

"In most parts the vote was fair and democratic, but sadly in one part there were irregularities," Gruevski said, promising a re-run in all the areas where there had been trouble.

His next step will be to form a coalition to bolster his estimated 60 seats in the 120-seat assembly. He has said he would prefer an alliance with the DPA, a move likely to further alienate the large number of Albanians who voted for the DUI.

"Despite the violence and ballot-stuffing, we still have more deputies than the DPA," said senior DUI official Xhevat Ademi. "It won't be the first time they convert defeat into victory."

Security concerns halt voting in Macedonia

Macedonia's parliamentary election was marred by suspected fraud and violence in ethnic Albanian areas on Sunday, undermining Skopje's attempt to show the EU it was mature enough to start membership talks.

One person was shot dead, nine were wounded and voting was halted in one town after a gun battle. The electoral commission noted instances of suspected fraud and irregularities such as broken or missing ballot boxes and stolen voting materials.

Two of its local officials in the ethnic Albanian Tetovo area were briefly detained by an unknown armed group before being rescued unharmed by police, the commission added.

"I have to express my regret and worry that after the 2006 elections, which were overall evaluated as very good, this year we have bad elections," said commission chief Jovan Josifovski.

The ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) leader, former guerrilla commander Ali Ahmeti, blamed the rival Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the police for "provocations, violence and psychological terror".

"What happened today is a black mark on Macedonia," he said.

The two parties are bitter rivals for the vote of the 25 percent Albanian minority. They have been on bad terms since 2006, when the DUI, which won most of the Albanian votes, was left out of a coalition government in favour of the DPA.

The violence is the worst since the end of the 2001 rebellion, when all-out ethnic war was averted by the West using the lure of NATO and the European Union to secure more rights for Albanians and get guerrillas to disarm.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the United States embassy in Skopje both issued statements expressing concern and calling for restraint. Before the vote, Brussels had said the election is a test Macedonia must pass to start EU negotiations.

The West is worried by any signs of instability in the Balkans so soon after the February secession of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians from Serbia, the latest shudder in a region torn apart by the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s

REPEAT VOTE

The situation appeared to have calmed down by the time polls closed at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). Turnout was around 46 percent by 5 p.m. (1500 GMT)

"The situation in the country overall is stable," Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told reporters. "The incidents are small in number and mostly in ethnic Albanian areas. There will certainly be a repeat vote in those areas in two weeks."

Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party is expected to win the vote on a surge of nationalist defiance after Greece blocked Macedonia's NATO bid in April in a 17-year row over the name it shares with a Greek province.

Gruevski's government, which will likely have to include a partner from the ethnic Albanian parties, will be asked to get NATO accession back on track, start EU membership talks and calm tensions among the rival Albanian factions.

Weeks of minor armed incidents between the Albanian parties during the campaign led authorities and NGOs to engage an estimated 6,000 local and foreign monitors.

The violence on voting day began soon after polls opened.

Scuffles broke out in several Albanian areas and a small explosive device was thrown at an empty cafe. Near Skopje, voting was stopped in the town of Aracinovo after a gun battle.

Police said officers went to the town after local monitors reported the arrival of men with machine guns. They came under fire and retaliated, killing one gunman and injuring two others.

The DUI said the incident was initiated by plain-clothes police.

"They stopped our convoy and shot one round in the air, it was chaos, we got out from the cars and tried to flee," DUI official Shefik Duraku told Reuters.

In Skopje's Cair neighbourhood, another shooting took place outside a polling station. One DUI official was in critical condition and five other people were wounded, police said.

At least 10 people have been arrested in connection with the violence. They included Agim Krasniqi, a commander of the guerrilla Albanian National Army in a 2001 rebellion who remained active after a peace deal was reached.

Shootings marr Macedonian's parliamentary election

Shootings that led to at least one death and allegations of ballot fraud forced elections officials to suspend voting in at least 17 polling stations Sunday, marring the start of Macedonia's early parliamentary election.

The election could prove crucial to this Balkan country's hopes to join NATO and the European Union. But even before the polls opened, the campaign was tainted by violence among rival ethnic Albanian parties and claims of fraud, with international monitors recording more than a dozen pre-election attacks.

The most serious election day violence occurred in the former ethnic Albanian rebel stronghold of Aracinovo, near Skopje, where two separate shootings at least one person dead.

Two party supporters were wounded during a shootout with special police, and one later died of his injuries, said Ermira Mehmeti, spokeswoman for the main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration.

Villagers told reporters that trouble began when one person tried to vote on behalf of multiple people.

Police cordoned off the village and the State Election Commission said voting was suspended in eight polling stations in Aracinovo. Earlier in the day, the commission had received reports of broken ballot boxes in the village.

Mehmeti also reported gunfire near the party's headquarters. She said party members inside the building took cover in the basement but the party's leader, ex-rebel leader Ail Ahem, was not in the building at the time.

On May 12, gunmen had shot at Ahmeti's car as he campaigned in Tetovo, wounding a bystander in what he described as an assassination attempt.

Voting also was suspended in Gurgurnica near Tetovo in the country's ethnic Albanian northwest after men appeared armed with machine guns. Polling stations in the village of Malino, northwest of Skopje, never opened Sunday because ballot boxes were stolen overnight, the commission said.

It said voting also was halted in the village of Ciflig near Gostivar in the northwest because of ballot stuffing, and in Vrapciste south of Tetovo.

Ethnic Albanians account for about a quarter of Macedonia's 2.1 million people. In 2001, rebel forces from the National Liberation Army fought a six-month insurgency against government forces in a bid to win more rights for ethnic Albanians.

Authorities had said a record number of police would be deployed for the vote, especially in volatile ethnic Albanian areas.

In Tetovo, "no weapons" posters — similar to no smoking posters, only with an image of a gun — were prominently displayed at the entrance to a polling station.

The European Union and United States called on Macedonia "to enforce a 'zero tolerance policy' for acts of violence or intimidation," and said in a joint statement Saturday that "there must be an end to impunity for offenders who break the law, tarnishing this country's democratic credentials."

On the eve of the election, Radmila Sekerinska, leader of the Social Democrats, said the appearance of misleading campaign posters mimicking her own and voter lists with names almost identical to those on her own list was "a scheme aimed at transferring some of the votes from our list to the governing list."

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's center-right VMRO-DPMNE is seen as almost certain to the election being held two years early. A recent opinion poll gave his party 31.3 percent of the vote compared with the Social Democrats' 11.2 percent.

But it is unclear whether the 37-year-old leader will be able to win a majority of parliament's 120 seats and avoid having to resort to a coalition to form a government.

The new government will face a formidable task.

It must conclude protracted and bitter negotiations with southern neighbor Greece over Macedonia's name — a dispute that led to the country being blocked from joining NATO at an alliance summit in Bucharest in April, triggering a crisis that led to Gruevski calling the snap polls two years ahead of time.

It must also ensure that a date is set for the start of EU entry negotiations, and calm tensions among ethnic Albanians, as well as decide on whether to recognize its northern neighbor Kosovo as an independent country and conclude negations on delineating their shared border.

Gruevski called the snap poll shortly after a political crisis exacerbated by Greece's veto on Macedonia's NATO aspirations at an alliance summit in Bucharest. Much of his campaign has focused on national pride and the name issue.

Greece refuses to allow Macedonia to join NATO or the EU unless it changes its name, which Athens says implies claims on its own northern province of Macedonia.

Gruevski, the bad boxer from Skopje

These were the words on todays Front Page on Greek Daily "Ta Nea".

The paper analyzes Gruevski, back to his 'boxing days'. It states, -Prime Minister Gruevski in his professional boxing career, has one victory and one loss.

"Five years ago Prime Minister Gruevski 'knocked out' his competition in getting to VMRO's throne. However on the NATO Summit, Greek Prime Minister knocked out Gruevski by issuing veto to his country's NATO admission", says 'Ta Nea'

The Greek Daly went deep into Gruevski biography, saying his family's roots hail from Aegean Macedonia, from Lerin, to be precise.

"Ta Nea" admits Gruevski as a Prime Minister would be the worst choice for Greece. The Greek Daily concludes the article by saying he is a formidable foe because -he is very unpredictable and Greece's Government aren't sure how far he can go.

Greece's Government had hoped that Macedonia would not go to early elections, hence the disappointing reactions from Athens. Early elections, according to numerous Macedonian and foreign analysts would mean strengthening of Gruevski Government. The first choice for Greece had always been the SDSM party, due to their close business and family ties.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Ljubisha Georgievski wished all the parties luck at the forthcoming vote, on June 1st.

Macedonia's future in EU, NATO

The electoral campaign gets under way in Macedonia today.

“We’ve had well-organized elections up to now, and we’ve shown that we can do it. So, it’s not a question of if we can, but whether we sincerely want to, and whether the political will and a sense of responsibility for the future of our country exist,” said Crvenkovski.

The Macedonian president added that irregular elections would be a retrograde step to the only real option for Macedonia—NATO and the EU--and called on citizens to protect their vote, and thus the state.

The former leader of the biggest opposition party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), claimed that, as at the previous elections, he would remain impartial.

“It’s good and important for the SDSM that this young leadership faces up to its own responsibility and this test of political maturity,” he said.

Regarding the talks with Greece over the “name” dispute, Crvenkovski reiterated that the elections would hamper the negotiating process, and that the status quo played into Greece’s hands.

The president added that “Macedonia cannot afford to err or give in to pressure and provocation from the Greek side, by responding with unreasonable moves that will primarily exacerbate economic relations.”

He said that the document on strategic cooperation with the U.S., recently signed in Washington, was further confirmation of the consolidation of mutual trust, but should not be viewed as an alternative to NATO membership.

Macedonia dissolves parliament, paving the way for early polls

Macedonian deputies voted on Saturday to dissolve the parliament, thus paving the way for early elections to be called in coming days in a bid to avoid further political crises following Greece's blockade of Skopje's integration into NATO over a name dispute.

After a two-day marathon session, 70 deputies voted for the 120-seat parliament to be dissolved, parliament speaker Ljubisa Georgievski said. Opposition parties did not take part in the vote, although they were present during the session.

"I have noted that the parliament voted its dissolution and I wish you all the best in coming elections," Georgievski said.

Georgievski was expected to call early parliamentary elections by Monday, parliament officials said earlier.

The elections could be held in mid-June, less than two years after the tiny Balkan country's previous legislative polls.

But Zoran Tanevski, State electoral commission spokesman, told AFP that the legal deadline for the polls to be held "sixty days after they are called could be shortened as these will be early polls."

The session was scheduled after the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski backed the request of the opposition ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

The motion was submitted to parliament a week after Macedonia's bid to join NATO was blocked by Greece in a long-running row over the right to the name Macedonia, which is shared by a northern Greek province.

Gruevski said on Friday that the opposition parties "have been blocking the work of the parliament."

"We remain committed to our goals to join NATO and the European Union... But the necessary reforms are halted with a blockade of parliamentary procedures," he said.

Despite disappointment for not being invited to join NATO, Macedonia's officials have pledged to continue talks with Greece over the disputed name issue.

Greece refuses to recognise the former Yugoslav republic's name because it is the same as that of the northern Greek province of Macedonia and Athens worries that this could imply a claim on its territory.

Macedonia's constitutional name is the Republic of Macedonia, and Skopje wants this used in international relations, except with Athens, where a name acceptable to both parties would be found.

Gruevski's government had already been in crisis after another ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party for Albanians (DPA), left the coalition for 10 days in mid-March before deciding to return.

The DPA's decision to withdraw from the government had been made in protest at Skopje's failure to recognise Kosovo, a disputed ethnic Albanian-majority province of neighbouring Serbia that declared independence in February.

Macedonia, a former republic of the communist Yugoslavia, has an ethnic Albanian minority that makes up around 25 percent of its population of two million.

Macedonia Looks to Early Election After NATO Snub

The party of Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on Wednesday it had agreed to hold an early parliamentary election, after Greece last week blocked the country's bid to join NATO.

A session of parliament was called for Thursday to discuss the initiative, originally tabled by the main ethnic Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

Parliament has to first vote to dissolve itself for the country to hold early elections, which must then follow within two months.

The end of Gruevski's ruling coalition, less than two years since it took power, would spell a fresh period of political uncertainty in the Balkan republic. It borders newly independent Kosovo, and was rescued from all-out ethnic civil war in 2001 by NATO and European Union mediation.

"Considering developments in the dispute Greece has with us, our Euro-Atlantic integration, the inefficiency of parliament and events in Bucharest, right now there is no better solution than for the nation to hold early elections," Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki of the VMRO-DPMNE told reporters.

"There will be a new mandate, and greater capacity to carry out reforms for faster Euro-Atlantic integration," he said.

NAME DISPUTE

Greece blocked an invitation at NATO's Bucharest summit last week for Macedonia to join the alliance in a dispute over the country's name, which is the same as that of Greece's northern province, birthplace of Alexander the Great.

The two have been unable to agree on a name change since Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

The VMRO-DPMNE executive committee said it had accepted the DUI initiative to hold an early parliamentary election, which would likely be held in June.

Anti-Greek feelings are riding high, and analysts say the conservative VMRO-DPMNE hopes to capitalise on the nationalist sentiment and secure a new, stronger four-year mandate.

Gruevski's main coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Albanians, indicated it would support dissolving parliament.

Albanians form a 25 percent minority in the country of 2 million people.

They were offered greater rights and representation under a 2001 peace accord, brokered by the West to end a six-month ethnic Albanian insurgency that followed Kosovo's 1999 ethnic Albanian guerrilla war for independence.

But the country continues to suffer from high unemployment and lack of economic development that has fuelled fears of renewed ethnic tension.

DUI calls for dissolution of Macedonian parliament

Democratic Party for Integration (DUI) will submit on Tuesday an official request for dissolution of the parliament and for holding early elections.

DUI's President Ali Ahmeti told this Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at the meeting staged in the frameworks of consultations of the party leaders after the NATO Summit, which took place today.

"Our opinion is that this parliament and the current government lack capacity to handle the challenges the country is facing," said Rafiz Aliti, the head of the DUI's deputy group.

Answering a journalist's question, Aliti said that "DUI has not heard VMRO DPMNE's stance on this" and that his party was waiting for "the positions of the remaining parties."

Official sources from the government said that Gruevski only heard out Ahmeti's initiative.

It comes after today's meeting between the working panels of VMRO DPMNE and DPA, at which principle agreement was reached on the demands put forward as an ultimatum by Menduh Thaci's party last May.

Gruevski-Ahmeti meeting was held as a part of a series of separate talks hosted by the Prime Minister. Previously, he met with the Presidents of DPA and SDSM, Menduh Thaci and Radmila Sekerinska, to brief them on the activities of the Macedonian delegations at the NATO Summit in Bucharest and at the meeting of the Adriatic Charter members in Zagreb.

No statements to the media were given after the meetings.