The parliamentary elections in North Macedonia were held on May 8, 2024 together with the second round of the presidential elections. In these elections, there were candidates from 17 different political parties or movements, 6 of which took a seat in the Parliament. The right-wing opposition coalition led by the VMRO-DPMNE party won the election decisively, winning 45 percent of the vote and 58 seats, three short of an outright majority. The current left-wing coalition led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia lost 28 parliamentary seats and fell to 16 percent of the people’s votes. Of the 123 parliamentary seats in the Parliament of the Republic, 120 are elected from six electoral units with 20 parliamentary seats in North Macedonia using proportional representation from a closed list, with seats allocated using the d’Hondt method. The remaining three seats are elected by Macedonians living abroad, but are filled only if the number of votes exceeds that of the elected candidate with the fewest votes in North Macedonia in the previous elections. If the list exceeds this threshold, she gets one place; to win two parliamentary seats, the list needs to win twice as many votes, and to win three seats, the threshold is three times higher than the number of votes.
One of the more significant issues was the issue of corruption. While the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE accused the coalition of being guilty of spreading corruption. The ruling political party has backed a revision of the constitution to include recognition of the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia, a condition set by Bulgaria to allow the country to join the European Union. VMRO-DPMNE also promised to create tens of thousands of jobs amid the weak economic situation in the country, mass emigration and rising inflation.
The elections resulted in a landslide victory for the national-conservative VMRO-DPMNE and its “Your Macedonia” coalition, winning 58 seats in the Assembly, just three short of a full majority. Their main rivals, the incumbent pro-European SDSM and its coalition For a European Future, finished a distant third, winning 18 seats, their worst ever result. All other parties and coalitions that won seats include: the European Front coalition with 19 seats and the VLEN coalition with 13 seats (both representing national minorities), the left-wing party Left with six seats, as well as the left-wing populist Za Dvijenieten nasha Macedonia (ZNAM) with six parliamentary seats. The turnout was 55%. SDSM and its coalition For a European Future finished in second place, while DUI with the European Front coalition dropped to third place with 18 seats and the VLEN coalition with 14 seats after the re-voting in Ohrid, Struga and other areas on May 22, 2024.