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SKOPJE — Presidential elections are under way in North Macedonia as its 2.3 million people become increasingly anxious to see their tiny Balkan country finally join the European Union after nearly two decades of unfulfilled expectations.

Seven candidates are competing in the race on April 24, but the two favorites are incumbent Stevo Pendarovski of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM) and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE.

According to the latest poll by the Center for Political Research and Communications, Siljanovska-Davkova, who is 70, has a 3.6 point lead over the 61-year-old Pendarovski, whose SDSM has been in power since 2017. With neither candidate expected to get more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, a runoff round is widely expected.

The two faced off in the last election as well, with Pendarovski winning.

By 9 a.m. local time, turnout was some 4 percent, and the voting was proceeding in an orderly and relaxed …

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