OSCE Mission to Skopje supports further election legislation improvement

SKOPJE, 16 February 2006 - A report recommending improvements in election legislation compiled by the OSCE-supported NGO Coalition "All for Fair Trials" was presented recently to authorities in Skopje.

The report recommends that the differences between election irregularities and criminal activities in the unified Election Code be clearly defined. It also shows that most cases of irregularities were reported by police, with just four filed by citizens.

"The report provides extensive data on domestic institutional capacities to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of criminal acts against the voting and elections process - committed during the 2005 Local Elections - and a detailed analysis of the prosecutions undertaken and sanctions imposed," said Andrew Palmer, Acting Head of the Rule of Law Unit within the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.

Marijana Netkovska, the Coalition project coordinator, added: "We distributed this report to all appropriate institutions, hoping that the recommendations will be included in an amended electoral code, which should improve stipulations for fair and democratic elections."

This report is the final product of the project "Monitoring the Prosecution of the Local Elections 2005 Related Crimes."