First, there were toxic dump fires that burned for weeks around North Macedonia's capital.

Then, dumpsters started overflowing after a sudden collapse in the city's waste collection, making trash a battleground in upcoming local elections.

But, like the garbage, the campaign has been just as dirty.

Pensioner Emil Arsov, 77, called the situation "chaos", as he stood within a whiff of the piles of rubbish. "It's a real shame."

- 'Hybrid war' -

Several fires at landfills and an e-waste site regularly blanketed parts of the city of nearly 600,000 in acrid smoke between August and September.

Management of waste is a particular problem in North Macedonia -- and the wider Balkans.

Dump fires are common in the region, particularly in the hotter months, driven by low recycling rates and the prevalence of unregulated landfills.

But the country's right-wing Prime Minister, Hristijan Mickoski, blamed these fires on a deliberate distraction by "centres of power" who were waging a "hybrid war" in his country.

He provided no details on who he thought was behind the fires or why they would target a local poll.

Instead, he has pushed his party's candidate for Skopje's mayor as the solution to the problem.

"After I take over as mayor, in 72 hours, Skopje will finally shine," Orce Gjorgjievski, the candidate from Mickoski's party, announced at the start of his campaign.

Gjorgjievski is currently leading polls and the independent incumbent decided not to seek re-election.

On the waste-lined streets, locals told AFP the allegations of skullduggery and political promises provided little comfort.

"They should stop using these fires against each other so the citizens can have clean air; that is the priority," 27-year-old economist Tome Kostov said.

- No 'logical explanation'-

The waste collection company, which is owned by the city of Skopje and publicly funded, attributes "some delays" in its collection to an increase in waste.

Along with several summer water shortages and ongoing struggles with a strained public bus network, independent councillor Jane Dimeski for Skopje's Centre municipality said the city government was under particular scrutiny.

"No one has given a logical explanation for how the waste was collected weeks back and not now," Dimeski, who is also an environmental activist, said.

"The city and its public company are not capable of performing one of its main functions for the existence of cities -- to keep them clean," Dimeski said.

Local elections will be held across the country later this month, with potential runoff elections for mayoral positions scheduled for November 2.