Both ruling party, opposition claim victory in Macedonia pollsDecember 12, 2016 - 10:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Macedonia's ruling conservatives and the opposition Social Democrats both claimed victory in snap elections held in the hope of solving a two-year long deep political crisi, AFP reports. "VMRO-DPMNE is the winner of this election," Nikola Gruevski, party leader and prime minister since 2006, told supporters at the party's headquarters. However, shortly afterwards the opposition Social Democrats (SDSM) also claimed to have won. "We are the winners!" Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev told a cheering crowd of supporters in front of the government building in central Skopje. "We have one more seat, we are waiting for the final results ... but the trend is clearly in our favour." With votes counted at 96 percent of polling stations the VMRO-DPMNE had a narrow lead of less than 1.5 percent of votes. According to analysts, with the results too close to call it was not possible to provide a reliable projection on the number of seats each side will have in parliament until the last votes are counted. For voters, the most important outcome will be to get a government capable of regaining stability after the long political crisis. "What do I expect? I expect this agony to end," 55-year-old Zoran Milevski told AFP after he cast his ballot at a school-turned-polling station in central Skopje. The vote was called as part of a European Union-brokered deal between Macedonia's four main political parties after a mass wiretapping scandal erupted in February 2015 and sparked rival street protests. No major incidents were reported during the day, electoral officials said, although observers warned of some irregularities. However, none of the parties has complained about the process or results so far. The turnout was higher than at previous elections, around 66 percent. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |