Skopje (North Macedonia), Apr 4 (AP) North Macedonia's presidential race kicked off on Thursday, with seven candidates vying for the largely ceremonial post in a two-round vote that will conclude on May 8.

The official start to campaign season means the candidates are allowed to make campaign speeches, hold rallies and present their agendas.

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The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for April 24, after which the two leading candidates will face each other in a second round that will coincide with the general election on May 8.

Current polls are led by incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, seeking a second five-year term with support from the governing social democrats; and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova of the main opposition centre-right VMRO-DPMNE coalition, who also sought the presidency in the previous election in 2019.

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Other candidates include law professor Biljana Vankovska, who's running for the leftist party Levica, and two members of the country's ethnic Albanian minority: current Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani from the Democratic Union of Albanians, which is part of the governing coalition; and Arben Taravari from an opposition ethnic Albanian party.

The other two candidates are Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski of the northern town of Kumanovo, and Mayor Stevco Jakimovski of Karpos, a municipality in the capital Skopje.

The presidential election in North Macedonia uses a two-round system under which a candidate must receive over 50 per cent of the vote from a total of all 1.8 million registered voters. In the second round, the turnout must be at least 40 per cent for the result to be valid. (AP)

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