North Macedonia's State Election Commission (SEC) on May 11 certified challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova's victory over center-left incumbent Stevo Pendarovski in this week's second-round presidential runoff, clearing the way for the longtime law professor to be sworn in as the Balkan nation's first female president on May 12. Siljanovska-Davkova, who turned 71 on May 11, received 561,000 votes to Pendarovski's 252,000 votes. She was supported by the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party that won the simultaneous parliamentary elections on May 8, and she is widely expected to pursue a more skeptical line on the country's long-standing efforts to join the European Union. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
Siljanovska-Davkova's Presidential Win Certified In North Macedonia
President-elect Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova addresses supporters in Skopje on May 8.