Leading in opinion polls among the presidential candidates is George Ivanov from the ruling conservative VMRO-DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

VOA: standard.2009.03.22

Nikola Gruevski, leader of the centre-right VMRO-DPMNE, won a snap election in June 2011 and made a deal with his party's Albanian coalition partner to form a government.

BBC: Macedonia profile

The coalition, including the two main Slav parties, the ruling VMRO-DPMNE and the opposition Socialists, would have a two-thirds majority in parliament, giving the coalition unchallenged power to enact laws and make constitutional changes.

CNN: Macedonia unity deal hits snag