Brussels, 30/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament mediators for the Przino Agreement in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia), Richard Howitt (S&D, UK) and Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia) urged Macedonian political leaders on Tuesday 29 March to “continue to work to create the conditions for credible elections” on 5 June 2016.
The three mediators argue that “confidence of voters in the integrity of the elections and the rule of law in the country is of utmost importance for credible electoral process”. “It is essential that the people of the country can go to the elections, with full confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and knowing that the outcome will provide a sound basis for putting the country back on its path towards Euro-Atlantic integration and the European perspective”, they add in their joint press release.
The three expressed concerns over the integrity of the process for checking the electoral roll and developments related to the changes brought to the law on pardon. Underlining that, according to the state electoral commission, up to 500,000 voters have been identified as eligible for verification through field-checks, the MEPs say that “it is essential that the State Electoral Commission does everything possible to reassure the voters in the country that it has thoroughly and extensively verified these facts” and does not leave any ambiguity that large numbers of voter names have not been checked and could become the focus of claims of electoral fraud. The mediators also noted developments in the constitutional court to challenge the law on pardon in relation to cases of electoral fraud and welcomed the reported statement by President Gjorge Ivanov that he would never use the law to pardon criminals who commit election frauds. The mediators also highlighted the need for further action to ensure media freedom. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)