By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – Stevo Pendarovski, the candidate of the governing Social Democrats, has declared victory in Sunday's presidential runoff in North Macedonia.
Speaking at a news conference at the party headquarters in the capital Skopje, Pendarovski, who is a supporter of North Macedonia's name change deal with Greece, said that he will be “everyone's president “, adding the Macedonians had decided to “move forward together ” in the elections.
“I would like to thank all the citizens, Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Serbian, Ulah, Roman, Bosniaks, and others who gave me the responsibility to be the president for everyone. I will be the president of everyone, ” said Pendarovski.
“The result of today's elections is proof that we are growing bigger, responsible and we deserve to advance. Our place is NATO, in the European Union, ” said Zoran Zaev, the leader of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.
Sunday's election is the sixth presidential election in the country's modern history, but the first since it made a momentous name change.
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova — who won 44.73% in the first round of polls — conceded defeat.
Davkova was the candidate of the main opposition union. She has argued for canceling the country’s name change deal.
