The local elections on 24 March will most probably be elections with the largest number of independent candidates for mayors and council members in the past 15 years. Following the announcements of a boycott by SDSM and their smaller coalition partners, signatures are being collected for more than 30 independent candidates for mayors and for just as many council member lists. Their number is expected to double by the application deadline Friday, Dnevnik reports.

Analysis and opinion poll experts say that as many as 90 percent of Macedonian voters mostly vote for the candidates of the political parties and that independent lists of candidates score little or no success in elections. However, they say the political situation before the elections in March changes the electorate’s course and indicates that on 24 March independent candidates for mayors and council members may be the new election phenomenon.