Speaker of Parliament Afrim Gashi has officially signed the decision to hold local elections on October 19, 2025. The decision has been forwarded to the relevant bodies responsible for organizing and implementing the electoral process.
During this pre-election period, Parliament will continue its regular administrative work, but no plenary sessions will be held to prevent misuse of the parliamentary platform for electoral purposes.
In his statement, Gashi called on political parties, candidates, and their teams to demonstrate a high level of political culture throughout the campaign.
In these elections, citizens across 80 municipalities and the City of Skopje will vote for mayors and municipal councils to serve a four-year term.
The State Election Commission (SEC) will soon announce the official electoral calendar, including deadlines and obligations for all participants, media, and election authorities.
- Voter List Check: Starts 15 days after the elections are announced and lasts 20 days. Citizens can verify their data and request corrections.
- Candidate List Submission Deadline: September 15, 2025 (35 days before the vote). The SEC must validate and confirm the lists by September 27, 2025.
- Campaign Period: September 30 to October 18, lasting 20 days.
The government has allocated around €10 million for the elections. About two-thirds will go toward political advertising in the media, while the rest will cover compensation for election commission members, transportation, and logistics.
By the end of August, authorities must select 21,000 administrators for approximately 3,500 polling stations. In addition, political parties that performed best in the last elections – VMRO-DPMNE, SDSM, DUI, and VLEN – will nominate an additional 14,000 polling station commission members.
