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2009 Assessment

Macedonia (FYROM): Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Macedonia (FYROM): Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	75
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	88

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: Section 8 from Part III of the Electoral Law of 2006 is dedicated to the framework of the State Electoral Commission, which monitors the elections on national level, while Section 9 from Part III explains the work of the same commission on the local level.

References: Electoral Code, 2006, Part I, Sections 8 and 9.

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Electoral State Commission is an independent commission whose members are not allowed to be members of a political party. They have been voted in by two-thirds of the Parliament..

References: Electoral Code, 2006, Part III, Section 8.

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

Peer Review Comments: Usually the NGOs make election reports faster than the state monitoring agency. The agency usually publishes the official results of the elections the day after the elections.

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: During the last presidential/local elections (spring of 2009) the agency was slow to act and slow to enforce its judgments.

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

Peer Review Comments: The agency investigates irregularities in the election process, and penalties on offenders are imposed by the courts.

Peer Review Comments: The agency can initiate inquiries into irregularities in the election process, but the penalties on offenders are up to the courts and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, the agency reacts very slowly regarding penalties for offenders.

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

Peer Review Comments: The serious problem is the fact that the voter lists are not renewed (not erasing dead persons or people who immigrated).

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Electoral Code states that if the state or local Electoral Commission has responded negatively to an appeal about the regularity of the elections, citizens and parties can file an appeal to the Supreme Court of Macedonia.

References: Electoral Code, 2006, Section IX.

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

Peer Review Comments: The Electoral Code states that if the state or local Electoral Commission has responded negatively to an appeal about the regularity of the elections, citizens or parties can file an appeal with the Supreme Court of Macedonia.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Dr. Ivan Bimbilovski, Vice Dean, Law Faculty, European University, Macedonia, August 25, 2009.

Interview with Dr. Risto Karajkov, writer, analyst and correspondent on civil society topics and on Balkan socio-economic and political affairs for Osservatorio sui Balcani, August 20, 2009.

Peer Review Comments: According to local and international media reports, the military and security forces did not remain neutral during the 2008 parliamentary elections.

Peer Review Comments: Many reports say that during the elections in Macedonia, police and other law-enforcement officials sometimes either stood by and watched irregularities take place or actively aided the perpetrators. In other words, security forces did not remain neutral, but instead declared their allegiance to political parties.

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Electoral Law, Article 161.

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments:

References: Based on association for electoral monitoring MOST, electoral reports and studies. See also Electoral Law, Article 161.

Peer Review Comments: In most cases, election observers are able to monitor elections effectively. During the 2008 parliamentary elections, however, observers were

Peer Review Comments: Observers are not allowed to monitor the elections in some places and in many cases were physically attacked.

Peer Review Comments: There were cases of monitors -- local and international -- who were detained during the elections.