Elections in Croatia, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia

Abstract

There have been a few noteworthy electoral events in the countries of South-Eastern Europe in 2024: Croatia and Bulgaria held parliamentary and European elections, Northern Macedonia faced presidential and parliamentary elections, Serbia called re-elections in 89 municipalities, including its capital. Everywhere the result was different. The ruling parties in Croatia and Serbia, although not without losses, have remained in power and dominant position. The opposition nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party in Northern Macedonia has defeated the incumbent Social Democrats with a huge score, however, their ability to carry out the campaign promises is yet unclear. The center-right GERB has beaten its rivals in Bulgaria, but is experiencing great difficulty forming a government, so the question is has it really won? All cases in question look as if they were «Pyrrhic victories». The winners needed to have noticeably sacrificed, and they do not entirely understand how to deal with the extremely dubious position they found themselves in by taking charge.

Keywords

• parliamentary
• presidential and municipal elections
• bulgaria
• serbia
• north macedonia
• croatia