Skopje, 2 March 2024 (MIA) - State Election Commission (SEC) data shows that five of the 11 presidential candidates have collected the 10,000 signatures required for a presidential bid.

Biljana Vankovska (Levica) has collected 10,278 signatures, Stevcho Jakimovski (GROM) - 10,269, Maksim Dimitrievski (ZNAM) - 11,562, Bujar Osmani (DUI) - 11,079 and Arben Taravari (Coalition Worth It) - 10,706.

Six other candidates are still collecting the signatures, with Velo Markovski receiving 1,330 thus far, Mersiha Smailovikj - 1,286, Gjorgji Manaskov - 388, Zorica Cvetkovska - 176, Gospodin Popovski - 106, and Tome Nikolovski - 0.

As of Sunday, VMRO-DPMNE candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and SDSM-backed Stevo Pendarovski will also collect signatures, despite the option of being nominated through the backing by 30 MPs.

The signature collection runs through March 8 in all SEC departments and offices across 34 municipalities and at notaries public.

The first round of the presidential elections will take place on April 24, with the runoff slated for May 8, held in parallel with the parliamentary elections.

MIA file photo