Bulgaria Hails Macedonia's 'Democratic' Parliamentary Elections

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (C) and his wife Borkica (R) greet supporters of the VMRO party after their victory in the parliamentary elections in Skopje. EPA/BGNES

Macedonia's early parliamentary elections, which took place on Sunday, were democratic and give reasons for optimism with respect to regional cooperation, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said in a special statement.

"In spite of the competitive election campaign, Sunday's early parliamentary elections in Macedonia were organized in a democratic way, and were carried out in a peaceful atmosphere. This provides us with additional grounds to expect strengthening of democracy and acceleration of the processes of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the country. I hope that the Macedonian Parliament and government will work even more actively for regional cooperation and good neighborly relations," the Bulgarian top diplomat declared in a special communique Monday.

Mladenov does point out that Macedonia faces important issues with respect to its European future.

"Bulgaria will continue to support the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our neighbors and the entire region of the Western Balkans," the Bulgarian Foreign Minister stated.

Macedonia's early parliamentary elections were won by the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who will continue to head the country's Cabinet in a coalition with the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration. While the opposition Social-Democratic Union for Macedonia made important gains, it failed to beat the ruling center-right party.

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