Early Parliamentary Elections, 1 June 2008

In response to an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Following an invitation from the Foreign Ministry of the Former Yugslav Republic of Macedonia, ODIHR established an election observation mission on 30 April to observe the early parliamentary elections on 1 June.

Headed by the Ambassador Robert Barry of the United States, the mission included a 13-member core team based in Skopje. On 6 May, 20 long-term observers were deployed throughout the country.

The mission joined efforts with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe for election-day observation. Together, they deployed observers from 42 OSCE participating States, including 214 ODIHR observers, a 19-member delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and a 13-member delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe.

During the 15 June re-runs, the mission was reconstituted, deploying 39 observer teams comprising 72 ODIHR short-term observers, a four-member delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and a two-member delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe.

According to the mission's final report: "The 1 June early parliamentary elections offered voters a wide variety of choices during a vigorously fought electoral campaign. In most of the country the elections were procedurally well administered. However, expectations of progress were not realized because of a failure by some election stakeholders and relevant authorities to prevent violent acts in predominantly ethnic Albanian areas, including limited and selective enforcement of laws. Organized efforts to violently disrupt the process early on election day made it impossible for voters in many locations to freely express their will.

"As a result, and after a thorough review of complaints was conducted by the State Election Commission (SEC), the elections were re-run in 187 polling stations on 15 June, and furthermore in 15 polling stations on 29 June. This gave those voters affected by serious irregularities on 1 June the opportunity to express their will in a more secure and generally calmer environment. This was ensured by a heavy police presence at and around polling stations. However, tensions and intimidation remained evident in the interim period preceding the re-runs. As a whole, the early 2008 parliamentary elections did not meet key OSCE commitments."

Long-term observation

The Mission, headed by Ambassador Robert Barry of the United States, included 11 international staff based at the Skopje head office and 20 long-term observers deployed in the regions.

The Mission assessed the entire election process in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections and national legislation. It focused on the campaign period, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of disputes.

Election day observation

The ODIHR requested 250 short-term observers from the OSCE participating States, who were deployed shortly before election day. The short-term observers were deployed around the country in teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

The day after the election day, the Election Observation Mission issued a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive final report will be released about eight weeks after the completion of the process.

Previous elections

The ODIHR has observed ten previous electoral events in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, including the 2006 parliamentary elections, 2005 local elections, 2004 referendum, 2004 presidential election, 2002 parliamentary elections, 2000 municipal elections and the 1999 presidential election.