According to unofficial and incomplete party tallies, 49-year-old Ivanov of the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party was the clear favourite to win the presidency in a second round in two weeks' time.

The Skopje-based EU envoy Erwan Fouere praised a democratic vote: "The elections took place in a calm atmosphere and we commend the members of the electoral boards and citizens of this country who despite the harsh weather came out to vote."

Partial results showed there was a tight race for second place between Ljubomir Frckovski, of the main opposition SDSM party, and independent Ljube Boskovski who served as Macedonia's interior minister during an ethnic rebellion in 2001.