SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Voters in North Macedonia cast ballots Sunday in local election runoffs that are expected to cement the ruling conservatives’ landslide victory in the first round.

VMRO-DPMNE candidates won 33 out of 44 mayoral contests decided in the Oct. 19 first round, including a majority of city councilors, leaving opposition Social Democrats far behind and dashing their hopes of an early general election.

There are a total of 81 municipalities in North Macedonia and runoffs are taking place in 37 of them, including the capital Skopje. Conservative candidates are leading in almost all contests.

Candidates’ promises about the economy, jobs and education in Skopje are likely to take a backseat to problems linked to garbage collection. Until Sunday, trash had been accumu

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