2019 North Macedonian Presidential Run-Off Sunday Msy 05,2019 - Stevo Pendarovski wins North Macedonia's presidential election

Stevo Pendarovski, supported by the ruling Social Democrats (SDSM), has won the North Macedonian presidency in a run-off vote on Sunday May 05,2019

The 56-year-old garnered 51.66 percent of the vote beating nationalist VMRO's Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova which got 44.73 percent. The remaining 3.61 percent of the votes were void.

Sunday's run-off poll was called after neither candidate received enough ballots for an outright win in the first round of voting two weeks ago

The victory puts more wind into the sails of the ruling coalition, which expects to get a date to start European Union accession talks in June and become the 30th NATO Member State next year.

The campaign for the elections was dominated by divisions over a change to the country's name that was agreed to mollify Greece and open the way for EU and NATO membership.

Greece had, for decades, demanded that the ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia.