The State Election Commission (SEC) yesterday adopted the Rulebook on the methodology for full access, changes and deletion of data in the Voters Register. The SEC also adopted the procedure for conducting on-site inspection to update it.

In addition, the SEC adopted the Rulebook on the methodology for updating the Voters Register based on analysis, cross checks on different databases and records, on-site checks and other methods for verification of the Voters Register.

The SEC adopted the methodology for the revision of the Voters Register after obtaining the written consent of the four political parties, signatories of the Przino Agreement, within the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia.

The media reported that regardless of the written consent for the adoption of the Rulebook regarding the Voters Register, that accusations between the political parties have not stopped.

According to Nikola Gruevski, leader of VMRO-DPMNE, the delay in the process for updating the Voters Register has been done intentionally by the SDSM, for the purpose of postponing the elections scheduled for April 24, 2016.

On the other hand, the opposition doesn’t believe that in April there will be fair and democratic election, and that there isn’t enough time to revise the Voters Register until the scheduled date.

CIVIL has been for years alerting the public and the institutions that the Voters Register is in a catastrophic situation, and that it is one of the most serious reasons for the distrust in the electoral processes, in general. Experts – collaborators of CIVIL welcome the progress in this process. CIVIL will support all the steps of the SEC for the improvement, revision and the checking of the Voters Register.

Biljana Jordanovska

ELECTIONS 2014: DEMOCRACY DISQUALIFIED