North Macedonia holds presidential and parliamentary elections Wednesday
Associated PressSKOPJE, North Macedonia — Voters in Northern Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country’s aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. The month-long campaign has focused on fighting corruption, improving the slugging economy and alleviating poverty, but the main hot-button issue has been over North Macedonia’s struggle to join the European Union. Demands by neighboring Bulgaria that North Macedonia’s Bulgarian minority be official recognized in the country’s constitution have been supported by the ruling center-left, but blasted by the center-right opposition as capitulation to Bulgaria. Ambassador to North Macedonia, Angela Aggeler, said there was “an epidemic of corruption in this country that has affected every sector, every organization, and only by exposing the corrupt actors can we begin to help the country address these issues.” WHO IS RUNNING The main two blocs are multi-party coalitions: The center-left coalition led by the SDSM, “For a European Future,” consists of 14 parties.