Unofficial results show Crvenkovski becomes new Macedonian president

Branko Crvenkovski was elected new Macedonian president on Wednesday, the MIA news agency reported quoting the authoritative Macedonian civic association MOST.

Crvenkovski, the candidate of the Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia won the second round of the presidential elections with 60.64 percent of votes, while his opponent, the VMRO-DPMNE party's candidate Sasko Kedev won 39.36 percent of votes, the MOST said, adding that the voters' turnout amounted to 53.35 percent.

The runoff of the Macedonian presidential elections ended Wednesday with disputes about its validity between the parties of the two candidates.

Under the Macedonian constitution, the second round election will be valid only if more than 50 percent of the voters, registered in the Voters' List, cast their ballots.

The Macedonian State Election Commission has begun counting the ballots. It is expected to announce the preliminary official results in 24 hours after the elections, and the final ones in three days.

The early presidential elections, organized after the tragic death of Boris Trajkovski in a plane crash on Feb. 26, are the third since Macedonia's independence from the former Yugoslav Republic.

Source: Xinhua