Deralla, CIVIL: We have been in the sector that deals with monitoring of the election processes for ten years, and have always been trying to have complementary activities with all the other institutions and organizations, so that there is no overlapping or conflicts. In places where we have participated, we have participated from the position of an organization for human rights and freedoms. Our main task is to protect the right to vote.

Unfortunately, the right to vote has been violated with the poor quality of the work of the State Election Commission in the past years. Let’s hope that the new composition of the State Election Commission, in the given circumstances that are not at all in their favor, they will manage to at least somewhat achieve the standards that are prescribed with international laws, but also with the Constitution and the laws in Macedonia.

I think that there is not much space for correcting what is a consequence of politicization, fierce politicization. However, there is not much time neither for correcting the consequences of hatred, arrogance and indolence of some of the state institutions. I think that the State Election Commission, as the highest body that deals with the election processes, does not have many conditions to carry out its function also because there is not a good enough communication between the institutions. In the SEC they have complained that they do not have a good cooperation with the Ministry of Interior. Whereas in the Ministry of Interior, on the other hand, we have a different situation, in which there they complain of other shortcomings in other institutions, or in parts of the institutions.

That transferring of responsibility between the institutions is most directly felt by the citizens. So that is why you have the return of phantoms, of tens of thousands of phantoms, you have frustrations in which the people are first encouraged to help in a process, and after they have found the courage to call and seek a solution for a problem concerning the Voters Register, for example, they face a labyrinth of a sluggish, typically old-fashioned administration that does not know or does not want to know how to solve the problems of the citizens.

We will certainly be here to try to help the State Election Commission and the Municipal Election Commissions, which I think are insufficiently trained. Part of them still suffer from serious politicization. We will try to help also with suggestions, but also with recommendations and criticism on how the entire process is implemented. CIVIL is here to help the institutions, and we hope that we will find a good response from them. That they will understand that our function is not to attack them because we don’t like them or because we hate them. We don’t have any emotions in terms of the institutions, as people and as human beings. Our function as a non-governmental organization is to observe, to indicate, and of course, to demand on behalf of the citizens for them to be the center of the processes, and not the institutions and officials. Because the institutions feed on the money of the citizens and they have to remember this, and have in mind every moment of their working hours. Because the citizens are here to exercise their rights and freedoms, and the institutions are the ones that need to enable this.

Text editing: Маја Ivanovska
Camera and photo: Аtanas Petrovski
Editing: Аrian Mehmeti

Translation: Natasa Cvetkovska