Second round of Macedonian elections successful; certain issues remain

09/04/2009

Macedonia received a passing grade for fulfilling democratic standards according to the OSCE mission. However, observers suggest eliminating the 40% turnout requirement in the second round of presidential elections and revising voter lists.

By Marina Stojanovska for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 09/04/09

"We were pleased to see a peaceful environment and a well-administered Election Day," OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission chief Peter Eicher said. [Tomislav Georgiev/SETimes]

Macedonia received a passing grade because it fulfilled democratic standards in the second round of presidential and local elections on Sunday (April 5th). The assessment comes from foreign and domestic observers alike, including the OSCE/ODIHR mission, the Council of Europe and the Macedonian NGO MOST (Bridge), among others.

"The voting process was significantly improved from the parliamentary elections in 2008," said Jorgen Poulsen, member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as quoted in an OSCE/ODIHR press release.

Peter Eicher, head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, said in the same release "We were pleased to see a peaceful environment and a well-administered Election Day, although some aspects of the campaign period seriously detracted from the overall quality of the election process."

Of particular concern is the current requirement for a 40% turnout in the presidential runoff, which raises the prospect of officials some day being forced to nullify elections. "We asked earlier [for it] to be changed," said Eicher.

During the runoff, anxiety was noticeable because two hours before polling stations closed, voter turnout barely topped 33%. However, Macedonia's Electoral Commission announced on Monday (April 6th) that turnout exceeded 42%.

The OSCE/ODIHR mission also questioned the accuracy of the voter lists, which include many names of those who now live outside Macedonia.

US Ambassador Philip Reeker praised the conduct of the second round and congratulated the public. He said the international community must now find ways to "help Macedonia become apolitical in its public administration".

An unsigned US Embassy statement issued on Tuesday saw room for further improvement, calling for investigation of "credible allegations of economic intimidation" of voters.

MOST Executive Director Darko Aleksov agreed that while there were no Election Day incidents in and around polling stations, there were still instances when a single individual would vote for a family or a group.

Now, said Aleksov, President-elect Gjorge Ivanov should find ways to reach every citizen because he takes on a nonpartisan role after a "very political campaign".

"The president of Macedonia is the president of all Macedonian citizens," concurred Reeker. It is now time for people to get back to work and face current challenges, he said.