The right-wing party VMRO-DPMNE, led by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, secured a decisive victory in the first round of local elections held on Sunday, October 19, across North Macedonia.

Preliminary results released by the National Election Commission show that VMRO-DPMNE dominated in several major municipalities, including Bitola, Prilep, Strumica, Ohrid, Veles, and most of the regional municipalities in Skopje. In the capital, no mayoral candidate won outright in the first round, but VMRO-DPMNE’s Orce Georgievski leads comfortably and is widely expected to take office in the second round.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SDSM), under Venko Filipce, suffered another heavy setback following its defeat in the parliamentary elections in May 2024. Notably, SDSM lost control of Strumica, a municipality traditionally aligned with the party and the hometown of former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, where VMRO-DPMNE’s candidate won convincingly in the first round.

The elections, conducted across 80 municipalities and the capital, will move to a second round on November 2 in cases where candidates did not secure over 50% of the vote. As of 17:00 on election day, voter turnout stood at 39.61%.

Mickoski hailed the results as a “big victory,” emphasizing that citizens chose “direction and values rather than parties,” and praised the success of candidates who prioritize work over rhetoric. VMRO-DPMNE has already secured mayoral positions in over 30 municipalities during the first round.

In Albanian-majority areas, the VLEN coalition performed strongly, outperforming Ali Ahmeti’s DUI party. In Skopje’s Chair municipality, the largest Albanian community in the capital, VLEN’s Izet Medjiti, also vice president of the government, won outright, defeating former foreign minister Bujara Osmani. The second round in Tetovo, another key Albanian-majority municipality, is expected to reinforce VLEN’s strong lead.