Voters in Macedonia go to the polls Sunday to elect a government in early elections overshadowed by violence and the impoverished Balkan state's stalled integration into the EU and NATO.

Outgoing Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski called the polls hoping to secure an absolute majority for his centre-right VMRO-DPMNE after a crisis in his fragile ruling coalition hampered its work on several fronts.

A massive police presence is to be deployed for the vote in which the electorate of almost 1.8 million will have 12 hours to cast ballots from 7:00 am (0500 GMT). First estimates are expected at around 10:30 pm (2030 GMT).

Surveys suggest a solid win for VMRO-DPMNE, ahead of the main opposition Social Democratic Union under Radmila Sekerinska, 35, and two ethnic Albanian parties.

But Gruevski, 37, is again likely to need the support of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), or their fierce rivals, the Democratic Union of Integration (DUI), to cobble together a government.

The DPA withdrew its support for his government for 10 days in mid-March, in protest at its failure to recognize Kosova.

Adding to the political turmoil was Greece's veto in early April of an invitation for Macedonia to join NATO, which along with European Union membership, was the government's main strategic goal.

Athens made the move because of a long-running row over the right to the name Macedonia, which is shared by a Greek province. Macedonia's formal name is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM.

These elections, the fifth for a parliament since Macedonia won independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, are seen as a yet another test of the tiny, landlocked state's political maturity.

The campaign got off to a violent start, however, with the opposition Albanians accusing those in power of being behind attacks on 10 of its regional offices, and the May 12 "assassination attempt" on its leader, Ali Ahmeti.

But the DPA headed by Menduh Thaci hit back, saying the shooting was merely a pre-poll stunt by DUI.

The violence was some of the worst seen in Macedonia since 2001, when an all-out civil war was averted by Western-mediated peace talks between Albanians and government forces.

The conduct of the two parties representing the 25-percent Albanian population will be the focus of security and poll monitors, especially in their bastion around the northwest town of Tetovo.

The elections will be observed by some 13,000 police, including rapid reaction and helicopter units, and more than 6,200 monitors, among them 464 from the international community.

Macedonia won EU candidate status in 2005. However, the political turmoil, Albanian tensions and corruption have meant the 27-nation bloc has yet to set a date for the start of membership talks.

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