Voters in North Macedonia will go to the polls on 15 July in snap parliamentary elections despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the country with the ruling coalition seeking to return to office.

The early parliamentary elections were originally scheduled for April 12 but were put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Then Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called early elections after the European Council failed to come to an agreement on starting talks with North Macedonia on joining the European Union in October 2019.

The Liberal Party of North Macedonia (LDP), a member of the ALDE Party, will participate in the election as part of the coalition list ‘Можеме!’ (‘We can!’) of 25 parties led by SDSM, whose campaign has amongst other things emphasised their role in the country's Euro-Atlantic integration, including resolving the dispute with Greece and securing NATO membership.

The campaign is running under the joint slogan “We did a lot. We can do even more, even better!” with the Liberal Party campaigning with a variant “Можеме! Либерално кон Европа” (‘We Can! Liberally towards Europe’).

The LDP party has three candidates running for election with EWA Alumna Monika Zajkova, Zoran Pavlovski, and Bobi Mojsoski on the ballot.

Support for the country’s Euro-Atlantic prospects remains relatively high, with a large majority (74% according to a latest opinion poll) saying they supported this year’s accession to NATO while an even higher number (79%) said they supported joining the EU.

ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen sent his support to LDP, saying: “the best guarantee to get Macedonia into the EU is to vote for Можеме! and vote for liberal MPs in Parliament”.

ALDE Party Vice President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP, speaking in a virtual event with LDP ahead of the election, said: “Be active. That's the way to move forward. I'm not interested in the left or the right ones. I wish Macedonia moves forward, towards Europe and the European Union. I don't wish Macedonia to move backwards. Let's give it to the past. Let's look ahead to the indoors. To the European Union."

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=583989692263132

On 15/07 #NorthMacedonia will decide who will govern the country. The historic agreements with #Bulgaria and #Greece are at the very centre of North Macedonia’s #EU future, enhancing reconciliation and good neighbourly relations. Our statement.👇https://t.co/EA0dUrg0pQ

— Ilhan Kyuchyuk (@ilhankyuchyuk) June 29, 2020