Macedonia Pins Hopes on National Election

Crvenkovski is 41-year-old electrical engineer, who served as the country's first prime minister after Macedonia gained independence for Yugoslavia in 1991. His campaign posters depict him with world leaders like U.S. President George W. Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and his slogan reads: "Branko Crvenkovski: the statesman."

"We need good interethnic relations, peace and security," he told a rally Monday. "It means membership in NATO and European Union."

His main rival is Sasko Kedev, of the opposition VMRO party, which is known for its nationalist underpinnings. The largely unknown Kedev, also 41, has been positioning himself as "new face of Macedonia."

A cardiologist who once worked at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, Kedev was elected to parliament two years ago.

Two former ethnic Albanian rebel commanders are also presidential hopefuls.

But Gezim Ostreni, 61, a former leader of the ethnic Albanian rebel National Liberation Army, and engineer Zudi Xhelili, 43, are both considered longshots to win - ethnic Albanians make up only one-fourth of the country's population, and Macedonian voters, with the conflict fresh on their minds, are unlikely to cross ethnic lines.

Still, with four candidates, Macedonia's 1.7 million voters are not expected to choose a president in the first round because the winner must receive 50 percent of the vote. A runoff between the top two candidates would be held within two weeks of the election.

While a runoff may get more heated, this campaign has been almost somber. Trajkovski's death reminded people on both sides of the conflict of the benefits of restraint, making all the candidates cautious about reopening the battles of the past.

"I don't think anyone will be able to help Macedonia like Trajkovski did," said Refik Serra, 50, an ethnic Albanian shoemaker. "He respected us."