ODIHR opens election observation mission in North Macedonia

SKOPJE, 3 March 2020 – Following an invitation from the country’s authorities, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 12 April early parliamentary elections in North Macedonia.

The mission is led by Tana de Zulueta and consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Skopje and 20 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 10 March. In addition, ODIHR will request that OSCE participating States provide 250 short-term observers, who will arrive several days before the elections.

The mission will assess whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor fundamental aspects of the election such as voter registration, candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

Meetings with representatives of state authorities, political parties, civil society, the media and the international community form an integral part of the observation.

On election day, the ODIHR election observation mission will join efforts with delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to observe the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results.

An interim report will be published to update the public and media during the course of the observation. The day after the elections, ODIHR’s preliminary findings and conclusions will be presented at a press conference. A final report on the observation will be issued approximately two months after the end of the election process.

For further information, please visit https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/north-macedonia/447607 or contact:

Egor Tilpunov, Media Analyst with the Election Observation Mission, at +389 72 443 698 or [email protected]   

Katya Andrusz, ODIHR Spokesperson, at +48 609 522 266 (Warsaw mobile) or at [email protected]