Macedonian parliamentary election, 2006

Macedonian parliamentary election, 2006

5 July 2006
All 120 seats to the Sobranie
First party Second party   Leader Nikola Gruevski Vlado Bučkovski Party VMRO–DPMNE SDSM Alliance VMRO coalition Together for Macedonia Last election 33 seats 61 Seats won 45 32 Seat change +12 –29 Popular vote 303,543 218,164 Percentage 32.5% 23.3%
PM before election Vlado Bučkovski SDSM Elected PM Nikola Gruevski VMRO–DPMNE

Republic of Macedonia
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Parliamentary elections were in Macedonia on 5 July 2006. The result was a victory for the VRMO-DPNME-led coalition, which won 45 of the 120 seats.

Electoral system

The country was divided into six constituencies that elected 20 members each by proportional representation.^[1] Seats were allocated using the d'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 5%.^[1]

Campaign

The international community sent 6,000 observers to monitor electoral procedures, as NATO and European Union officials saw the elections as a key test of Macedonian ambitions of joining both organizations after local elections in March 2005 were marred by irregularities. The 2006 election campaign was marked by serious cross-political confrontations, occasionally resulting in violence,^[2] mainly between, but not limited to, the two major ethnic Albanian parties - the Democratic Union for Integration and the Democratic Party of Albanians. The situation was seen as seriously tarnishing the international reputation of the country. As the confrontations between the ethnic Albanian parties intensified, a diplomatic offensive from Western officials took place to put an end to the irregularities. These efforts were supported by the ethnic Macedonian parties, but also by calls from the Albanian and Kosovan prime ministers. The situation within the Albanian bloc didn't seem to improve much and, moreover, on 22 June 2006 in the center of Skopje, a clash between the two major ethnic Macedonian parties (VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM) also took place.

The representatives of the EU and the United States continued with their efforts to stop the irregularities. NATO warned it over pre-election violence or risk delays the country's ambitions to join the military alliance. (NATO intervention in 2001 (Operation Essential Harvest and Operation Amber Fox) helped prevent ethnic conflict developing into full-scale civil war.) Problems within the Macedonian bloc stopped immediately, and incidents between the Albanian parties also progressively stopped. The last week of the election campaign was calm, with almost no incidents.

Results

Aftermath

There were no major problems on the election day (5 July 2006), with only minor irregularities in the Western part of the country. The counting of the votes also passed almost without any objections. The government of the Republic of Macedonia, the EU and the United States dubbed the elections "a success".

The results showed a clear victory for the coalition led by the centre-right opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, obtaining 45 of the 120 seats in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. The coalition of its centre-left political opponent, SDSM, won 35 seats. The majority of Albanian votes were given to the DUI - PDP coalition (17 seats), while DPA won 11 seats. Other parties that won seats in the Parliament include: NSDP (7 seats), VMRO-NP (6 seats), DOM (1 seat), PEI (1 seat).

After unsuccessful negotiations between VMRO-DPMNE and DUI considering the structure of the new government, Nikola Gruevski decided to form a government with the Democratic Party of Albanians. After a tough negotiation process (especially between VMRO-DPMNE and NSDP), in August 2006, Gruevski announced that the new government will be composed of VMRO-DPMNE, DPA, NSDP, DOM, and PEI (65 seats in the Parliament, in total).

The DUI-PDP coalition, revolted because they have not been invited in the new government, started protests throughout the Albanian-dominated parts of the country. In May 2007, PDP has decided to accept Gruevski's offer to join the government, and in June the PDP became a coalition partner in the Gruevski's government.

References