Women voted less in 2025 local elections; biggest gaps in small municipalities

Women participated at a lower rate than men in the 2025 local elections: female turnout was 48.4 percent compared with 51.6 percent for men, even though the voter register included almost equal numbers of men and women (916,977 men and 915,438 women).

The figures were drawn from biometric identification records of the State Election Commission and were presented at the conference “Advancing women’s electoral participation through data, benefits and partnerships”, organized by the State Election Commission together with the OSCE and IFES.

Largest gaps in smaller municipalities

The turnout gap is most visible in smaller municipalities. The biggest difference was registered in Plasnica, where 61.5 percent of registered men voted compared with 38.5 percent of registered women. Other municipalities with large gaps include Sopište (59.2% men vs. 40.8% women), Aračinovo (58.3% vs. 41.7%), Mavrovo and Rostuše (58% vs. 42%) and Staro Nagoričane (56.9% vs. 43.1%).

In larger urban municipalities the differences were smaller; in Karpoš and Aerodrom turnout among women was actually higher than among men, at 52.6 percent and 52 percent respectively.

Speaking at the conference, SEC member Ditmire Shehu stressed the importance of gender-disaggregated data to identify where participation lags and where targeted measures are needed. "The woman's vote is not just a number in the election result," Shehu said.

Kilian Val, head of the OSCE Mission in Skopje, pointed out that women remain underrepresented in local leadership: they make up about 35 percent of candidates for municipal councils but only around 10 percent of mayoral candidates. "To change all this we need partnership and joint action. That means increasing women’s visibility during campaigns, but also security and a safe political environment, appropriate responses to misogynistic rhetoric, because such practices deter women’s participation," Val said.

The State Election Commission announced that detailed statistics for all 80 municipalities will be published after the conference, and that follow-up measures will focus on increasing participation among young people, persons with disabilities and other groups of voters.

Photo: Dragan Mitreski - Sloboden pechat