By Xinhua,
Skopje : A man was shot dead Sunday as Macedonians went to the polls in the country’s first early general election since it gained independence in 1991.
Two people were reportedly wounded in a shootout in Aracinovo, a village near the capital Skopje, in the early hours of voting. One of the men later died from his injuries.
Macedonia’s election authorities said earlier that they have received reports of stolen and stuffed ballot boxes at polling stations across the country shortly after polls opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).
The incidents were the latest in a series that have marred the early parliamentary elections. During a bitter election campaign, violence flared between two rival ethnic Albanian parties.
Macedonia has a population of 2.1 million, and a quarter of which are ethnic Albanian minority, who are living mainly in the west and the north of the country.
Before voting started Sunday, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski called for a fair and peaceful election, saying it is important first and foremost for his country.
“Let’s not forget that the first step, the first benchmark that we must fulfill is to hold peaceful, fair and democratic elections,” Crvenkovski said in an address to the nation.
He urged party leaders and institutions to prevent further violence that could ruin the image of the country.
Macedonian authorities also beefed up security for the elections by deploying a record number of police officers to protect polling stations, especially in areas that have been hotspots in the past.
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski called the poll after Macedonia failed to win an invitation to join NATO in early April, due to opposition from Greece over a dispute about the former Yugoslav republic’s name.
Athens opposes its neighbor’s name of “the Republic of Macedonia,” arguing that it implies a territorial claim over a Greek northern province also called Macedonia.