Macedonia’s knife-edge polls end in uncertainty

SKOPJE — Macedonia’s ruling conservatives were locked in a tight fight against the opposition with official results awaited on Monday from a weekend election aimed at ending the Balkan country’s instability. The polls passed without incident but the political uncertainty that has plagued the nation was immediately evident with rival parties declaring victory. With votes counted at nearly 100 percent of polling stations the ruling VMRO-DPMNE of Nikola Gruevski had a narrow lead of 1.37 percent over the Social Democrats (SDSM). Monday’s papers echoed their respective affiliations, predicting a win. “Tightest difference ever,” read a pro-government Dnevnik newspaper headline before adding: “VMRO-DPMNE’s 10th victory.” But a headline from the pro-opposition Sloboden Pecat newspaper read: “The government in Skopje fell.” Analysts said the results were too close to call. The electoral commission was expected to announce a final distribution of parliamentary seats later Monday. Observers warned of some irregularities but no political party has complained about the electoral process or results so far. “What is the most important regarding these elections is that in a such an electrifying and divided atmosphere ... the vote went on really peacefully,” political analyst Aleksandar Damovski said. — AFP