Macedonians- ethnic Macedonians and Albanians alike- are voting today in the country's first election since last year's war. The results of the election, and the atmosphere surrounding it, will go a long way toward determining whether Macedonia can become and remain a stable democracy.
More than 3,300 candidates from 30 parties are chasing 120 seats in the national parliament.
The first unofficial results are expected on Monday.
The main battle was between two Macedonian coalitions, one led by Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski's ruling VMRO party, and another, Together for Macedonia, led by former communist Branko Crvenkovski.
A recent poll conducted by the independent Institute of Solidarity and Democracy showed Crvenkovski's group leading Georgievski's, 59 percent to 39 percent.
The election is perceived as crucial to strengthening a Western-brokered peace deal that ended separatist conflict in the country.
About 900 observers are in the country for the parliamentary poll.
Tensions have been high in the run-up to the poll and on Saturday an ethnic Albanian gunman was killed and two others injured in a shootout with Macedonian police.
The shootout on Saturday was the second fatality in three days; on Thursday a police officer was shot in a village near Tetovo, scene of some of the worst ethnic violence during the 2001 rebellion.
Since my time spent living and working in parts of the former Yugoslavia, I've kept an eye on that part of the world. It's nice to see the democratic process (if not the democratic tradition) beginning to gain a foothold in the Balkans. This is just one baby step in the long and gradual process of fostering the democratic process in a corner of the world that has never had it. The day that an election can be held without loss of life; well, THAT will be a huge success. Clearly, that's not yet possible, but at least the majority of people are trying to effect change through the ballot and not the bullet.
Stay tuned. You won't hear much about this in the mainstream media, but it is still a crucial test of the West's ability to effect and nurture democracy. I believe there is hope, but it is far too early to declare victory.
