Deadly gun attack mars Macedonian elections
Agence France Presse (English) - June 1, 2008 Sunday 10:56 AM GMT

By: David Vujanovic

SKOPJE, June 1 2008 - A gunman killed one person Sunday in an attack on a Macedonian security patrol, police said as the Balkan state voted in polls already marred by unrest and overshadowed by political and ethnic troubles.

"One person has been killed and a few others have been wounded" in the ethnic Albanian village of Aracinovo, just north of Skopje, said a police official who requested anonymity and was unable to confirm the victim's identity.

Earlier, the State Electoral Commission said voting had been halted at 10 to 15 polling stations in and around the village, a stronghold of Albanian rebels who fought government forces in Macedonia's 2001 conflict.

The incidents were the latest in a series that have marred the early parliamentary elections, which were triggered by political and ethnic troubles in the former Yugoslav republic.

During a bitter campaign, violence flared between two rival ethnic Albanian parties -- the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the opposition Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

The opposition Albanians accused those in power of being behind attacks on 10 of its regional offices, and an "assassination attempt" on its leader, Ali Ahmeti. The DPA of Menduh Thaci said the shooting was a pre-poll stunt.

The Aracinovo region was previously considered a stronghold of ethnic Albanian gangs and hub for illegal trafficking, including cigarettes, oil, prostitutes and drugs.

In 2003, the impoverished Balkan state had appealed to the European Union to help it beef up its police force in the area following a series of attacks on its patrols.

On Sunday, a record 13,000 police including helicopter and rapid reaction units were deployed for the parliamentary polls -- the fifth in Macedonia since it gained independence from the former communist Yugoslavia in 1991.

The elections were called amid uncertainty over Macedonia's integration with the European Union and NATO after Greece vetoed an invitation for it to join the military alliance in April.

Athens made the move because of a long-running row over the right to the name Macedonia, which is shared by a Greek province. Macedonia's formal name is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

That came a month after the DPA withdrew its support for the government of incumbent Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in protest at its slowness in recognising the independence of neighbouring Kosovo.

Gruevski, 37, called the elections hoping to secure an absolute majority to push through EU-backed reforms.

Surveys predict a solid win for his conservative VMRO-DPMNE, ahead of the main opposition Social Democratic Union, and the two main ethnic Albanian parties.

But he is again likely to need the support of the DPA, or their fierce rivals, the opposition DUI, to cobble together a government.

The elections are seen as yet another test of Macedonia's political maturity. They are being closely watched by more than 6,200 local and international monitors.

"It's most important that there is no speculation and that it remains peaceful," said Riste, an 86-year-old pensioner who cast his ballot at a polling station set up in Skopje's Josip Broz Tito high school.

"I voted for the right. We need to shore up our democracy," said another voter, a 30-year-old unemployed electrical engineer.

Macedonia won EU candidate status in 2005. However, the political turmoil, Albanian tensions and corruption have meant the 27-nation bloc has yet to set a date for the start of membership talks.

The election strife is some of the worst seen in Macedonia since 2001, when an all-out civil war was averted by Western-mediated peace talks between the Albanian guerillas and government forces.

Voting, open to an electorate of almost 1.8 million at nearly 3,000 polling stations, lasts until 7:00 pm (1700 GMT). The electoral commission is then expected to give its preliminary results within three hours.

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