Local Elections, 17 and 31 October 2021
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Tana de Zulueta
Core team of 13 experts from 11 OSCE participating States, based in Skopje
Mission schedule
Mission schedule
6 September: Arrival of the core team
13 September: Arrival of long-term observers
14-15 September: Briefing of long-term observers
15 September: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country
14 October: Arrival of short-term observers
15 October: Deployment of short-term observers throughout the country
17 October: Election day
18 October: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
19 October: Departure of short-term observers
31 October: Second-round election day
4 November: Departure of long-term observers
6 November: Departure of the core team
Following an invitation to observe the local elections in North Macedonia scheduled for 17 and 31 October 2021, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections.
Long-term Observation
The mission is led by Tana de Zulueta (Italy) and consists of a core team of 13 experts based in Skopje. In addition, 20 long-term observers were deployed throughout the country from 15 September.
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 examine fundamental components of the elections, such as:
- voter registration
- candidate registration
- campaign activities and financing
- media coverage of the campaign
- the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies
- election-related legislation and its implementation
- the resolution of election-related disputes
The ODIHR EOM will also conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign.
Election Day
ODIHR has requested 250 short-term observers to be deployed immediately prior to the 17 October election day. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.
The day after each round of elections, ODIHR will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation, including potential recommendations, will be published approximately eight weeks after the end of the election process.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously deployed 20 observation activities in North Macedonia since 1998, most recently to the 2020 early parliamentary elections.