Security tight for Macedonia vote

Heavy snowfall in parts of the country could disrupt the vote

Security has been tightened in Macedonia ahead of presidential and local polls seen as critical to the country's EU and Nato membership bids.

About 8,500 extra police are being deployed to avoid a repeat of violence that marred elections last year.

The EU's envoy to Macedonia said the vote was the last chance in a long time for the country to prove it could hold elections to international standards.

A dispute with Greece over its name has also threatened its EU and Nato bids.

Heavy snowfall over the weekend, especially in the north and west of the country, could disrupt the voting.

Run-off expected

According to opinion polls, Gjorgje Ivanov, of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's governing conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, has about a 10-point lead over Ljubomir Frckoski, who is backed by the Social Democratic SDSM.

Five other candidates are also running for the largely ceremonial presidency, including former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski, who was acquitted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague last year.

This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards Erwan FouereEU envoy to Macedonia

Current President Branko Crvenkovski is not running for a second term.

Neither of the frontrunners is expected to gain the absolute majority needed to avoid a run-off vote on 5 April.

The 1.8 million eligible voters in the former Yugoslav republic will also elect the mayors of 85 communities.

The three weeks of campaigning passed off mostly peacefully, with a few claims of voter intimidation.

One person was killed and several injured in ethnic Albanian areas of Macedonia during parliamentary elections in June 2008 that monitors said fell short of international standards.

More than 500 international and around 7,000 local observers are on hand to monitor Sunday's vote.

Macedonian and European officials urged voters to carry off a peaceful election.

"We will do everything in our power in line with the law and police authority to enable the citizens to vote peacefully and without pressure," Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said.

The EU's envoy in Skopje, Erwan Fouere, said the vote was "the last chance not to miss the train again to EU" membership.

"This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards," he said.

Last year, Greece said it would block Macedonia from joining Nato and the EU unless it compromises over its official name.

Macedonia is also the name of a northern region of Greece.

In December 2008, Macedonia decided to take the issue of its name to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.