Berlin  - Germany hopes the rerun of parliamentary elections in parts of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will bring stability to the country, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.

The spokesman expressed the hope that the outcome of the voting would help heal divisions in the nation of 2.1 million.

About 25 per cent of the population are ethnic Albanians and a large majority are Slav Macedonians. The ethnic groups came close to civil war during violent clashes in
2001, which EU mediation ended.

The first round of voting on June 1 had to be aborted in about 190 election districts after violent clashes in the Albanian-dominated north-west that left one person dead.

Sunday's vote proceeded much more smoothly "despite minor irregularities," the spokesman said, adding that Berlin was awaiting the report of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) election monitors.

The spokesman said the result paved the way for discussions on how Macedonia could enjoy closer relations with the European Union. (dpa)