I R I Advancing Democracy Worldwide Republic of Macedonia Parliamentary Election September 15, 2002 Election Observation Mission Report and Recommendations International Republican Institute 1225 Eye Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 © 2002 International Republican Institute International Republican Institute 2002 Macedonian Parliamentary Election Contents I. Executive Summary 5 II. IRI Programs in Macedonia 8 III. Election Framework 11 Representation in Parliament 11 Election Law 12 Selection of the Election Date 11 IV. Election Administration 13 Eligibility to Vote/Voter Registration 14 Candidate Lists 14 Advance Voting 15 Filing and Adjudication of Complaints 15 Campaign Financing 16 Access to Media 16 Recognition of Domestic Election Observers 17 V. Findings of IRI Election Observers A. Pre-Election Monitoring Missions 18 Mission One 18 Mission Two 19 Mission Three 21 B. Election Day Observation Mission 22 On the Eve of Elections 22 Illegal Enticement 23 Intimidation 23 Election Administration 24 Opening Polling Stations 24 Balloting Process 25Accessibility of Polls 26 Voter Privacy 26 Voter Lists/ Verification of Identification 27 Police Presence 28 Campaign Materials 28 Mobile Ballot Box 28 Access of Election Observers 28 Polling Station Closing and Vote Counting 29 Ballot Security 29 VI. Findings and Recommendations 30 Appendix I Overview of Macedonian Political Parties 33 Appendix II IRI Pre-Electoral Environment Monitoring Reports 46 Appendix III IRI Preliminary Statement 65 Appendix IV Election Results 68 Appendix V Members Elected and Seated in the Macedonian Parliament 69 Appendix VI Members of the New Government 73 2 International Republican Institute 2002 Macedonian Parliamentary Election Election Observation Delegation George A. Folsom (Delegation Leader) Marcella Ridgway President Spokesperson International Republican Institute Republican National Committee Washington, DC Washington, DC Hon. Richard A. Bennett Eric Heighberger President Consultant Senate of Maine KPMG New York, NY Hon. Dino Rossi Senator John Anelli Senate of Washington State Former Regional Director Central and Eastern Europe Hon. Neil G. Giuliano International Republican Institute Mayor Washington, DC Tempe, Arizona Sabina Agarunova Alan Maine Project Accountant Head of Foreign Affairs Section International Republican Institute British Conservative Party Washington, DC London, United Kingdom Margarita Assenova Michael Rose Program Officer Executive Director International Republican Institute Idaho Republican State Committee Washington, DC Boise, Idaho James Bloom Sheila Byrd Resident Program Officer Director International Republican Institute American Diploma Project Belgrade, Serbia Washington, DC Kenneth Bricker Paul McCarthy Resident Program Officer Senior Program Officer International Republican Institute National Endowment for Democracy Zagreb, Croatia Washington, DC Laura French Dr. Andre Krouwel Program Officer Associate Professor International Republican Institute Free University of Amsterdam Washington, DC Amsterdam, The Netherlands 3 International Republican Institute 2002 Macedonian Parliamentary Election Nesti Gjeluci Lee Peterson Assistant Program Officer Resident Program Officer International Republican Institute International Republican Institute Washington, DC Belgrade, Serbia Valmira Istrefi Greg Simpson Program Assistant Resident Program Officer International Republican Institute International Republican Institute Skopje, Macedonia Skopje, Macedonia Vesna Kos Elise Schoux Program Assistant Co-Director International Republican Institute Regional Office Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina International Republican Institute Bratislava, Slovakia Zlatko Kovach Senior Manager for Strategic Planning Dijana Skondric International Republican Institute Program Assistant Washington, DC International Republican Institute Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Lindsay Lloyd Regional Director Ronald St. John Central and Eastern Europe Co-Director International Republican Institute Regional Office Washington, DC International Republican Institute Bratislava, Slovakia Brian Mefford Resident Program Officer Dimitar Stojkov International Republican Institute Program Assistant Kiiv, Ukraine International Republican Institute Skopje, Macedonia Laura Mozeleski Chief of Staff Steven Susens International Republican Institute Senior Manager for Communications Washington, DC International Republican Institute Washington, DC David Williams President Williams and Associates Salem, MA 4 International Republican Institute 2002 Macedonian Parliamentary Election I. Executive Summary The 15 September, 2002 parliamentary election was the third since Macedonia’s independence in 1991. The election demonstrated that the country has turned an important corner on the road to stability. Overcoming the consequences of an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001 and undergoing difficulties implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the country was bitterly divided along ethnic and political lines. The parliament was fragmented, with the eight parties that entered it in 1998 increasing to sixteen by the end of the mandate due to defections of MPs and splintering of parties. In 2001, Macedonia saw three governments, including the ‘wide coalition’ or ‘unity government,’ formed in the midst of the armed conflict to unite the country’s diverse political factions in dealing with the insurgency. The international community regarded the September 2002 parliamentary election as a test to Macedonia’s democratic maturity. IRI observers concluded that the election was conducted largely in accordance with the international standards for democratic elections. For the second time in successive parliamentary elections, power was transferred democratically from government to opposition. IRI received funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to conduct three pre-election monitoring missions and an international election observation mission for the September 15, 2002 parliamentary elections in Macedonia. IRI’s pre-election observation teams and the 30-member election observation delegation included representatives from the United States, Great Britain, Austria, the Netherlands and Slovakia. The Macedonian State Election Commission credentialed the election day observers, who operated independently of OSCE/ODIHR and other observer missions and issued their own preliminary post-election statement on September 16, 2002. IRI’s pre-election monitoring missions had the following goals: • An evaluation of the general pre-election environment. • An examination of the preparation of the political parties for the elections and their performance during the election campaign and evaluation of their contribution to establishing conditions for an open and credible electoral process. IRI’s election observation mission had the following goals: • To support a larger international effort to assist in maintaining an open and fully- participatory democratic electoral process in Macedonia; • To evaluate the administration of the elections; • To recommend ways in which the electoral process could be improved for future elections. Beginning in June, IRI conducted three missions designed to evaluate parties’ contributions to an open and credible electoral process and to make recommendations to party leaders about how to improve the process within their organizations. Each observer delegation consisted of five observers who deployed separately throughout the country to interview local party activists, 5 International Republican Institute 2002 Macedonian Parliamentary Election NGO’s, and the media about the electoral environment to date. By the time IRI’s 30-member election day observation team arrived in Macedonia to observe the September 15 elections, IRI had already conducted more than 180 meetings with activists in 30 cities and towns across the country. IRI election day observers arrived in Skopje, Macedonia on September 11, 2002. Following two days of briefings in Skopje on September 12 and 13 with political parties’ representatives, election officials and representatives of the American Embassy, the teams were deployed to six electoral districts across the country. On September 13 and 14, delegates met with local party officials, election administrators, media representatives and representatives from the Macedonian domestic election monitoring coalition MOST. The election observation started on September 14 with visits to polling sites in military units and prisons. IRI also observed the process of mobile voting in hospitals and private homes. On election day, September 15, delegates traveled throughout their assigned electoral units and observed the opening of polling stations, voting procedures, ballot tabulation and reporting processes. IRI observers visited approximately 300 polling stations or approximately 10% of the total number of polling stations in the country. The day following the elections, the delegates returned to Skopje for debriefing and issued a preliminary statement to the news media (Appendix III). IRI observers noted few problems on the eve of election and on election day itself, and they were able to conclude unanimously that the election process was sound. They found no evidence of widespread or systematic irregularity in the balloting process in the six electoral units within Macedonia. Based upon their observations and their many interviews with representatives of parties, civic organizations, election administrators and the media, IRI observers