The SDSM-led coalition “We Canˮ, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), became the largest party in the 123-member Assembly of the Republic (see note 1), winning 46 seats, two more seats than VMRO - DPMNE and its allies (the largest force in the outgoing legislature), now led by Mr. Hristijan Mickoski. The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), the SDSM’s coalition partner, led by Mr. Ali Ahmeti, remained the third largest force, taking 15 seats (up from 10 in 2016). On 13 August, President Stevo Pendarovski (SDSM) gave Mr. Zaev the mandate to form a new government. On 30 August, Parliament approved the coalition government led by Mr. Zaev which comprises the SDSM-led coalition, the DUI and the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) (see note 2).

The early 2020 elections were the first to be held after the country’s name change from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to North Macedonia in February 2019. They were called following a decision by the European Union (EU), in October 2019, to postpone opening membership talks with the country. The outgoing parliament dissolved itself on 16 February 2020 in view of elections to be held on 12 April. However, they were postponed to 15 July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During election campaigning, the major parties focused on of the country’s accession to the EU. The SDSM ran on the government records, citing in particular the country’s name change, which had been opposed by the VMRO-DPMNE.

Note 1:
They include three seats reserved for Macedonians abroad. They will remain vacant since the requisite conditions for organizing elections abroad were not met: There were not enough registered voters.

Note 2:
The ruling coalition holds 62 seats in all. The SDSM-led coalition and the DUI (a leading ethnic Albanian party) agreed that the DUI would appoint an Albanian prime minister 100 days before the next general elections due by 2024.