North Macedonia’s ruling party names presidential candidate

North Macedonia’s left-wing ruling party has nominated the country’s co-ordinator for NATO membership as its candidate in an April 21 presidential election.

Stevo Pendarovski was announced as the Social Democratic Union’s presidential candidate during a party congress in the capital of Skopje on Sunday.

A dozen smaller parties also are backing Pendarovski. They include a junior partner in the current coalition government, the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration.

The main conservative opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, nominated Gordana Siljanovska Davkova as the country’s first woman presidential candidate.

President Gjorge Ivanov will be termed out of office on May 12. Ivanov, a conservative, opposed an agreement with Greece that changed the nation of Macedonia’s name to North Macedonia last month to end a 27-year naming dispute.

The presidency is largely a ceremonial post.