• North Macedonia held parliamentary elections on May 5th, with the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party securing a decisive victory over the incumbent Social Democrats (SDSM).
  • VMRO-DPMNE won around 46% of the vote, while SDSM received around 36%, marking a historic defeat for the outgoing government. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)
  • The elections also saw Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova from VMRO-DPMNE elected as North Macedonia’s first female president, defeating Stevo Pendarovski from SDSM. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)
  • VMRO-DPMNE’s victory is seen as a shift towards more nationalist and Euroskeptic policies, potentially complicating North Macedonia’s EU accession process. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)
  • The outgoing SDSM government had pursued pro-EU policies and resolved a long-standing dispute with Greece over the country’s name, paving the way for EU accession talks. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)
  • VMRO-DPMNE has criticized the name change and is expected to take a tougher stance on issues like the country’s Albanian minority and relations with Bulgaria. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)
  • The elections were overshadowed by concerns over voter apathy and a boycott by some ethnic Albanian parties. (Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Times, The New York Times, Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera Balkans, Spiegel, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Tasnim News, The Straits Times, France24, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Zeit)

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