Voting for the entire family, especially on behalf of the wives, and not to mention the elderly citizens… Family and group voting is one common election irregularity that just cannot be eliminated.
From over 240 reports on election irregularities, CIVIL addressed 199 reports to the State Election Commission, out of which 19 refer to family and group voting, which is about 10% of all the reports on irregularities, processed until 12:00 noon on October 17. When we say reports, this means that
they have at least one case of family and group voting. On election day, October 15, CIVIL’s observers had data that spoke about this issue.
In Probistip, polling station 1536 located in the school “Naum Naumovski – Borce”, a married couple voted together behind the voting booth. The Election Board did not react. CIVIL’s observer pointed out what was happening. The comments of the members of the Election Board were: “Be quiet, don’t get yourself into more work”.
At polling station 0749, in the primary school “Sande Sterjoski” in Kicevo, a grandson brought his grandmother to the voting, stood behind the voting booth with her and loudly instructed her who to vote for.
Saraj is a municipality in which, among the many election irregularities are also numerous cases of family and group voting.
In the village of Laskarci, Municipality of Saraj, in polling station 2447 and 2447/1 we have cases where a son votes for his mother, while the Voters Register is carried outside of the polling station for her to sign, where men vote for their wives, and a person with the initials B.A votes on behalf of his entire family…, while the Election Board is without any reaction.
At least in the Municipality of Prilep, polling station 1374/1, in the primary school “Rampo Levkata”, the case was reported to the police. What happened?
Namely, a voter brought with him a larger group of voters, and while they were voting behind the booths, he went from one person to another telling them who to vote for. The members of the Election Board reacted, the voter ignored them and at the end the case ended up in the police.
Conclusion?
Family and group voting, add this to the serious violation of the secrecy of voting, on the one hand, and to the threats and pressures on the other hand, and to this, add the justification that is made at party headquarters about reliable voting, and you get a nicely framed picture of “traditional” voting that is carried out upon ones “own” will and belief.
Biljana Jordanovska
