The south-west of the country, especially the area around Ohrid, was hit by heavy rain and hailstorms the size of a walnut, which also caused flooding, severe damage to homes, vehicles and crops

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, 70, will become the first female president of North Macedonia; she was the candidate of the nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, which also won the parliamentary elections

The resounding victory of the conservative candidate Gordana Siljanovska (41,2% to 20,5%) over outgoing president Stevo Pendarovski, supported by Socialist Party, in the first round of the presidential elections reflects a general rising nationalist trend

Ahead of the double parliamentary and presidential elections, the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party, which is expected to win the elections, wants to eliminate the mechanism that imposes quotas on ethnic minority employees in the public sector