ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations in North Macedonia
Experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the observation mission to the 2019 presidential election in North Macedonia during a visit to Skopje from 16 to 19 September 2019.
The ODIHR experts met with representatives of the State Election Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other government ministries and agencies, as well as representatives of civil society organizations and the international community.
In these meetings, ODIHR reiterated that the elections were generally well-administered, but that the legislative framework still requires substantial review and revision, and urged the government and other stakeholders to take steps to implement a previously initiated reform. ODIHR drew attention to its priority recommendations, such as addressing gaps in the regulation of presidential candidates in the electoral law, updating and harmonizing population data across institutions to ensure a more accurate voter list, and refining rules related to media coverage of the campaign and election dispute resolution.
“The week’s meetings were constructive and provided ODIHR and national stakeholders the opportunity to directly discuss the report’s findings and recommendations,” said Corien Jonker, Head of ODIHR’s Election Observation Mission to the presidential election. “We look forward to the next steps that the authorities will take to follow up on the recommendations and to identify ways ODIHR can offer assistance.”
The authorities discussed ODIHR’s potential engagement in providing legal and technical expertise to assist in implementing these recommendations, including a review of draft amendments to the electoral code, continued participation in a working group on electoral reforms and technical assistance in upgrading voter registration processes. All OSCE participating States have committed to promptly following up on ODIHR electoral assessments and recommendations.