North Macedonia on knife-edge as indecisive election goes to runoff
(The Guardian Greece)

Turnout in vote regarded as fresh say on country´s name change too low to deliver clear result, say officials Presidential polls have thrown North Macedonia into political uncertainty with the Balkan state on a knife-edge after an inconclusive election dominated by deep divisions over a controversial name-change deal with Greece.With record low turn-out preventing any candidate winning outright in a first round on Sunday, the showdown between pro-EU and nationalist forces intensified as frontrunners Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska turned to courting ethnic Albanian voters ahead of a run-off on 5 May. After coming in third with 11%, the minority´s preferred candidate, Blerim Reka, was forced out of the race. Related: Andrzej Krauze on Macedonia`s referendum - cartoon Related: Greek PM stops for selfie on goodwill trip to North Macedonia Continue reading...