Macedonia parliamentary elections marred by violence

Early parliamentary elections in Macedonia were marred by multiple incidents on Sunday, with one dead and several people wounded, BBC reports. The poll was suspended in five regions across the country because of incidents.

In the region of Aracinovo, with an ethnic Albanian majority, several armed confrontations were reported between police and groups of people. One person was reported killed.

The polls were organized after Greece vetoed the NATO accession of the former Yugoslav republic at a summit in Bucharest earlier this year. Athens says the name of Macedonia may suppose a territorial claims because of its similarities to a Greek region.

The governing coalition in Skopje is also divided on the recognition of Kosovo independence given that a quarter of the Macedonian population is of Albanian origin.

Opinion polls suggest the elections will be won b a coalition formed around IMORO-DPMU led by PM Nikola Gruevski with 33% of the votes.