This article appeared on PACE on March 28, 2024

A pre-electoral delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), concluding a visit to North Macedonia (25-28 March 2024), noted that the period ahead of the elections has been stable and elections are expected to meet democratic standards. It also understood that the political environment, already strongly polarised, is still very dynamic and shifting, and called on all stakeholders to ensure that the campaign will run smoothly until the election day.

The six-member cross-party delegation*, led by Alfred Heer (Switzerland, ALDE), conducted its assessment in Skopje and met with the Speaker of the Assembly of North Macedonia, candidates for the Presidency, party leaders and representatives, the President and members of the State Election Commission (SEC), journalists and civil society groups, members of the diplomatic corps, fellow international observers from the ODIHR, and members of the delegation of North Macedonia to PACE.

The delegation noted that almost all political forces in North Macedonia are in favour of the European integration of the country and hopes that a solution will be found to the remaining obstacles.

The delegation was informed that a series of long-standing ODIHR recommendations have not been addressed, including recommendations to harmonise the Electoral Code, to stipulate clear tenure and appointment procedures for State Election Commissioners, and to provide effective remedies for electoral disputes.

The delegation was pleased to hear about the general confidence in the overall professionalism of the SEC but noted a lesser degree of trust in the lower election management bodies.

The delegation noted with satisfaction a general level of trust in the accuracy of the voter register and the methods of voter registration. However, it received information that the overall numbers of voters may be inflated due to citizens who remain in the register despite residing abroad. It also noted with concern that those citizens turning 18 between the 1st and the 2nd rounds of the presidential election would be deprived of the right to vote for the 2nd round of the presidential election.

The delegation learned that parties and candidates can campaign freely. While hate speech is not considered to be a major electoral issue, the delegation heard about cases of personal attacks and intimidation attempts against representatives of civil society, culminating with incitations to violence and even death threats. The delegation strongly condemns such practices, which are unacceptable in a European democracy, and expresses hope that the competent authorities will urgently take strong measures against the perpetrators of such threats.

The delegation noted that, while so far there have been no signs of massive misuse of state resources, concerns exist that this might still occur during the electoral campaign. It also heard about possible pressure on public employees as well as on inmates in prisons.

The formula for the distribution of political advertising in media and in public spaces is seen by some as privileging the larger and more established parties rather than providing fair access to all contestants, including smaller parties.

The delegation also took note of concerns on certain aspects of the electoral process, including the electoral legal framework (bringing last-minute amendments to the Electoral Code, while clearly necessary for better conduct of the electoral process, is contrary to the recommendations of the Venice Commission) as well as the rather weak regulation of campaign financing rules (particularly concerning a multitude of web portals seemingly created recently with the only goal of obtaining public funding for parties).

The delegation acknowledges that addressing some of these issues before election day may be challenging, but it strongly urges action on those that can still be rectified.

PACE – which represents parliamentarians from 46 European nations – is observing elections in North Macedonia within the framework of its post-monitoring dialogue with the country. A full-fledged PACE delegation of 22 members, accompanied by legal experts from the Venice Commission, will travel to the country to observe the vote on 24 April 2024 in the framework of an International Election Observation Mission together with the ODIHR, then on 8th May when delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and from the European Parliament should also join. PACE will debate its conclusions in due course.

* Composition of the delegation:

Alfred Heer (Switzerland, ALDE)

Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC)

Chris Said (Malta, EPP/CD)

Selivay Çelenk Özen (Türkiye, UEL)

Sibel Arslan (Switzerland, SOC), co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee

Joseph O’Reilly (Ireland, EPP/CD), co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee

Source: PACE