Serbian voters in Skopje and Kumanovo largely backed Aleksandar Vučić; Bulgarian voters in North Macedonia supported Iliana Yotova
Higher turnout among Serb voters at two polling sites contrasted with low participation by Bulgarian citizens across seven locations.
Serbian citizens who voted in North Macedonia on the recent election weekend largely favoured the list led by Aleksandar Vučić, while the majority of Bulgarian voters in the country supported the presidential ticket of Iliana Yotova and Kiril Vlchev.
Turnout and results at home polling stations
Bulgarian citizens cast ballots at seven polling stations in North Macedonia — in Skopje, Bitola, Ohrid, Strumica, Kavadarci, Kočani and Prilep. According to figures published by the Bulgarian Central Election Commission, a total of 352 Bulgarian nationals voted at those locations.
Among those votes, the Yotova–Vlchev ticket received the largest share with 40.7 percent. The pair of Andrej Gjurov and Georgi Kandev came second with 25.6 percent, and Kostadin Kostadinov with Petar Volgin collected 14.5 percent. At the national level, with 95.29 percent of protocols processed, Yotova and Vlchev held 34.60 percent and Gjurov–Kandev 32.04 percent. Some 265 Bulgarian citizens had been registered in advance to vote in North Macedonia.
In contrast, interest among Serbian voters in North Macedonia was markedly higher. Voting for Serbia’s elections took place at two sites: the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Skopje and the office of the honorary consul in Kumanovo. The Republic Electoral Commission of Serbia registered 1,438 Serbian citizens eligible to vote in the country.
Numbers published by Ivan Stoilković, minister of local self-government, show a strong lead for the list "Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia" in Kumanovo, where that list received 487 votes against 35 for the "Students win" list. In Skopje, Stoilković reported 507 votes for United Serbia and 150 for Students win. Stoilković did not indicate his source for these tallies; detailed official results are expected within 96 hours.
Aleksandar Vučić, speaking after acknowledging defeat nationally, said: "We won in Republika Srpska, in Montenegro, in North Macedonia, everywhere... We won among the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija." Vučić also announced that his political grouping will continue its work from the opposition benches.
Serbia organised voting in 37 countries for its diaspora, with more than 100,000 Serbian citizens registered to vote abroad.
Photo: press material from the event
