In a new policy brief from Balkan Focus and Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (CeSPI), dr. Aleksandar Lj. Spasov zooms in on the 2025 local elections in North Macedonia and their impact on the democratic development and European integration.
The ruling coalition achieved a decisive victory on the elections that confirmed their solid approval rate following the victory on the last parliamentary elections in 2024. Still, instead of focus on the local issues, the campaign turned into campaign on major national issues including the stalemate in the process of EU integration of the country. The increased societal polarization along political and ethniclines followed by a low voters’ turnout has a potential of creating a crisis in the functioning of the democratic political system. The paper analyses the political context in the country, the outcome of the elections and its impact on the democratic development of the country including its EU integration.
