16/07/2008 Election observation
Skopje, 16.07.2008 – The post-electoral delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)[1] was encouraged by assurances it received from the Speaker of the Parliament, the Ministers and its colleagues from the national delegation of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” to the Assembly that PACE conclusions and recommendations made in the wake of the 1 June 2008 parliamentary elections will serve as guidelines for the new Parliament in Skopje in its endeavours to overcome the problems that tarnished those problematic elections.
The delegation was further heartened by the fact that the political party that won the majority in the parliament, and was thus not compelled to form coalitions, nonetheless joined forces with an Albanian and other minority parties, thereby demonstrating its openness to power-sharing. This bodes well for the prospect of further integration of a multi-ethnic society in this country.
At the same time, the delegation deplores the boycott of the Parliament by a major Albanian party. The policy of boycotting parliamentary work is, in the first place, detrimental to the boycotting party. However, most importantly, such a policy puts that party’s electorate at a disadvantage. Accountability to a victimised electorate calls for the end of this boycott.
The delegation still believes that the problems that plagued the recent elections were systemic. That implies that both the government and the opposition bear their respective share of responsibility for the botched elections. Therefore, merely improving the electoral code, or introducing new media legislation, cannot solve the problem. What is needed is to build a climate of mutual confidence in order to bridge the political divide that makes this member of the Council of Europe a special case. There is a need for confidence-building measures to boost the trust that is so noticeably lacking in this country.
The post-electoral delegation was in from 15 to 16 July 2008 to assess post-election developments in the country and the degree to which PACE recommendations made in the wake of the botched elections have been heeded. The delegation will formulate specific new proposals to help the country get out of the current impasse. These will be presented to the Assembly at its September session in 2008 and could, in principle, include the re-opening, in a spirit of co-operation, of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure for “the ”.
Contact:
Vladimir Dronov, PACE, mobile +33 6 63 49 3792, tel. +33 3 88 41 27 09.