No winner in Brvenica — parties claim advantages ahead of 1 November runoff

No candidate won an outright victory in the first round in Brvenica, yet party statements presented the vote as a success for their camps while the race heads to a second round on 1 November.

VMRO-DPMNE reported that, despite a drop of 444 votes compared with last local elections, its candidate finished roughly 800 votes ahead of the DUI-backed contender and outpolled the SDSM candidate by a margin of more than four to one. "Yesterday VMRO-DPMNE convincingly won in Brvenica, with a huge result. This is a significant victory for VMRO-DPMNE in the Polog region. In the second round I expect even greater support from citizens, regardless of ethnicity, and an even better electoral result, so that we complete the victory on 1 November. Thanks to the citizens of Brvenica who came out and supported VMRO-DPMNE's victory, with somewhere around 3,000 votes. I expect that number after the second round to climb to a record 4,000 votes," said Hristijan Mickoski, prime minister.

SDSM focused on growth versus its previous performance: the party said its candidate picked up 225 more votes than at the last local ballot and recorded a 46 percent increase compared with that contest, even as the list finished in fourth place. SDSM also demanded an immediate prosecutor investigation into how votes cast by homebound sick and incapacitated voters were made public a day early. "Sick and incapacitated people vote at home, in the presence of a commission. Boxes are closed. They are taken. They are opened on election day, together with votes from polling stations. They are not counted the previous day. They are not published the previous day. Unless someone already 'knows' what is inside. SDSM asks the prosecutor to immediately launch an investigation. How is it possible to know the votes from sealed boxes that are opened at the same time as votes from polling stations?" asked Bogdanka Kuzeska, SDSM spokesperson.

Contesting interpretations and shifting alliances

Platform 12.05 challenged the party narratives, noting that the SDSM candidate received 57 fewer votes than the party's council list in the 2025 local elections and surpassed only two independent candidates. The group blamed the fourth-place finish on the party's leadership approach.

DUI hailed Arkin Jahiji’s result after he secured a place in the runoff, saying the outcome confirmed citizen support and underscored the need for local development and institutions that serve all residents regardless of affiliation.

Jakup Huseini of Vredi failed to advance to the second round, but rather than visiting coalition partners he went to congratulate Arkin Jahiji at his campaign headquarters — a gesture read by some as a potential signal of support ahead of the decisive ballot. Vredi's spokesperson declined to say whom the party will back in the second round, noting the decision must come from the party presidency and calling Huseini's congratulations "a high democratic gesture." Meanwhile, Arben Taravari of the Alliance for the Albanians urged all Albanian parties to vote for the Albanian candidate supported by DUI.

Photo: press material from the event