SKOPJE, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The three candidates running for president in North Macedonia are wrapping up their election campaign on Friday.

The electoral campaign that kicked off on April 1 will last until midnight Friday, and there will be electoral silence before the day of voting.

The first round for the sixth presidential elections in North Macedonia is scheduled for Sunday.

On March 29, the State Election Commission (SEC) closed the voter's list and a total of 1.8 million voters are eligible to vote in the elections.

According to the head of SEC Oliver Derkoski, this is the first time that the media campaign is funded by the state budget.

"SEC will monitor the campaign and the 68 news portals which have been accredited for this electoral process," Derkoski said at the beginning of the campaign.

"For the first time in the history of North Macedonia we have come up with a joint candidate. We're all backing Stevo Pendarovski, a candidate who stands above all parties and who will be everyone's president," said prime minister and social democrat leader, Zoran Zaev.

Pendarovski is the joint candidate of the Social Democratic Union Party (SDSM) and Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) in the presidential race.

It has been the second time for 56-year-old Pendarovski to run for the country's top post. He lost to the incumbent President Gjorge Ivanov in the elections of 2014.

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, 63, is the candidate chosen by the right-wing opposition VMRO DPMNE party.

The third candidate, Blerim Reka, 59, entered the presidential race with the support of only two small ethnic Albanian opposition parties -- the Alliance for Albanians and the BESA movement.

Speaking about his candidacy, Pendarovski said that if elected, he will represent all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.

Siljanovska-Davkova said that she will focus her campaign on the country's name issue. She declared that it's unacceptable that the country has changed its name to North Macedonia.

Asked about the reasons to run for president, Reka said that without an Albanian candidate, the multi-ethnic society of North Macedonia risks to slip into a multi-ethnic state, adding that political intervention is needed in order to change the situation.

The issue of the Prespa Agreement has dominated the debate between the three presidential nominees. While Siljanovska-Davkova declared that she does not accept this agreement and she will look into any option to revoke it, Pendarovski and Reka stated that they support this agreement, which is the only alternative for the country's accession in the NATO and European Union (EU).

Reka wrapped up his campaign on Thursday in the city of Tetovo where he called for equality between communities, while encouraging more reforms.

Pendarovski's campaign has been mainly focused on issues such as the rule of law and the integration of the country in the NATO and EU.

Siljanovska-Davkova has declared that she will respect the country's constitution, but personally, she will not use the name North Macedonia.

According to North Macedonia's constitution, a victory in the first round can be achieved only by winning over 50 percent of votes.

A second round will be held on May 5, when two most voted candidates will compete. The winner will be the candidate who has won the majority of the votes if more than 40 percent of the registered voters go to the polls.

In a video address on Friday, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski confirmed that the ministry is fully prepared to ensure a safe election environment and prevent any attempt to disrupt the election process.

On Sunday, polling stations throughout the country will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. local time. Enditem

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