SEC publishes preliminary official results of repeat mayoral elections in four municipalities
Skopje, 12 January 2026 (MIA) - At a press conference Monday the State Election Commission (SEC) published the preliminary official results of the repeat mayoral elections in the municipalities of Gostivar, Mavrovo Rostushe, Vrapchishte, and Centar Zhupa.
Based on the results, DUI-led National Alliance for Integration (NAI) candidate Valbon Limani won the most votes in Gostivar, VMRO-DPMNE's Oner Jakupovski in Mavrovo Rostushe, NAI’s Isen Shabani in Vrapchishte, while in Centar Zhupa there was only one candidate - Arijan Ibraim from the Democratic Party of the Turks of Macedonia.
SEC head Boris Kondarko noted that with the publishing of the preliminary official results, a 48-hour deadline for filing complaints related to the vote count has began. He also reminded that a 48-hour deadline is underway since the closing of polling stations on Sunday for filing complaints related to the voting procedure.
If no complains are filed within the deadline, the SEC head said the final official results would be published on Wednesday.
In Gostivar, 23.799 citizens turned out to vote (28.72%), with NAI’s Valbon Limani winning 15.345 votes, while Vlen’s candidate Nevzat Bejta won 7.510 votes.
In Mavrovo Rostushe 3.021 citizens turned out to vote (28.71%), the candidate of VMRO-DPMNE’s coalition, Oner Jakupovski won 1.982 votes, while SDSM’s Anes Ahmeti won 961.
In the Municipality of Vrapchishte, the SEC said a total of 8.791 citizens cast their ballots (32.23%). The candidate of the DUI-led National Alliance for Integration (NAI) Isen Shabani received 5.414 votes, while independent candidate Zulhajrat Demiri received 3.135 votes.
A total of 1.003 citizens turned out to vote (13.26%) in Centar Zhupa, where the sole candidate from the Democratic Party of the Turks of Macedonia, Arijan Ibraim, won 973 votes.
The repeat elections in the four municipalities were held after the turnout threshold of 33.33 percent wasn’t met in the October local elections. There is no turnout threshold for repeat elections.
Photo: Screenshot
