Macedonia election: Conservatives edge ahead as votes counted Published duration 12 December 2016

image copyright EPA image caption Supporters of the VMRO-DPMNE were celebrating in Skopje

Macedonia's governing conservatives are slightly ahead as votes are counted from Sunday's general election.

With more than half the ballot counted, the VMRO-DPMNE had 39% of the vote with the SDSM social democrats on 36%.

Supporters of both parties have taken to the streets claiming victory.

There were no exit polls for Sunday's election, which was called two years early as part of a Western-brokered agreement to end a paralysing political crisis.

Vlatko Gjorcev, a senior official in Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's party, told supporters at the group's headquarters: "We won once again. Tonight, today on December 11, the tenth victory in a row."

Meanwhile SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, quoted by AFP news agency, told a cheering crowd. "We are the winners!"

image copyright AP image caption SDSM supporters also claimed victory