site.bta18 Candidates Run for Skopje Mayor in North Macedonia's Local Elections

A total of 312 candidate lists for mayors and 575 lists for municipal councillors across the 80 municipalities in North Macedonia and the capital city of Skopje have been submitted to the State Election Commission ahead of the upcoming local elections. For the capital alone, there are 18 mayoral candidates and 20 lists of candidates for the local council, a number experts say sets a new record for the country.

The ruling party VMRO-DPMNE has nominated Orce Gjorgjievski, the current mayor of Skopje’s Kisela Voda municipality, as its candidate for mayor of the capital. The opposition SDSM has put forward Kaja Shukova, the party’s deputy chair and former Minister of Environment. The Left party is backing MP Amar Mecinovic, while VMRO-DPMNE’s coalition partner, the VLEN alliance of Albanian parties, has nominated Bashkim Bakiu, Director of the General Services Directorate at the Skopje University Clinical Centre. The opposition National Alliance for Integration, led by DUI, has nominated MP and leader of the People's Movement party, Skender Rexhepi. The GROM party has chosen Aleksandar Trajanovski, a two-term municipal councillor in Skopje.

Other candidates for mayor have been put forward by the TMRO, MAAK, Workers' Party, the Roma Union, and other smaller parties, while three independent candidates are also in the race.

Among Skopje’s municipalities, Suto Orizari has the highest number of mayoral candidates – eight in total. The most intense competition, however, is expected in the municipality of Cair, where DUI has nominated former Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, while VLEN is backing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment Izet Mexhiti. The battle between Albanian political parties is also expected to be particularly competitive in Tetovo, Gostivar, Sarai, Bogovinje, Lipkovo, and Arachinovo.

In the Karpos municipality, also part of Skopje, incumbent mayor Stevcho Jakimovski, backed by GROM, is seeking a fifth term and will be challenged by candidates from VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM, making this race one to watch closely.

In the eastern town of Kocani, there are six candidates for mayor, and in Kumanovo, eight candidates have been nominated. VMRO-DPMNE has not put forward its own candidate in Kumanovo but will support the current mayor, Maksim Dimitrievski, who also chairs their coalition partner party ZNAM. SDSM, on the other hand, has nominated its own contender.

Experts predict lengthy ballots in major cities. On September 25, the State Election Commission will hold a draw to determine the order of the mayoral candidates and councillor lists on the ballots.