EU’s Borrell congratulates North Macedonia's newly elected president

BELGRADE, Serbia

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday congratulated North Macedonia's newly elected President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

“The EU congratulates President Siljanovska-Davkova on her election and looks forward to working with the new president, North Macedonia’s first woman Head of State,” Borrell said in a statement.

Borrell said that North Macedonia has made “decisive steps” in the EU accession process, adding: “It will be important now to implement the outstanding commitments necessary to open the first cluster in the accession process.”

North Macedonia held parliamentary elections and a presidential runoff on Wednesday.

Some 1.8 million registered voters were eligible to elect 120 members of parliament for a four-year term. Three more seats are reserved for expatriates.

They also had to choose between Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova as the next president.

Siljanovska-Davkova won 64.80% of the vote, while Pendarovski won 29.21%.

The post of the president is largely ceremonial in the country, so more attention is focused on the parliamentary battle, which could prove critical in how North Macedonia proceeds with regard to its European Union membership, which has been pending since 2005.