Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No
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MACEDONIAN ELECTION LAWS LAW ON ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT Law on Voters’ List LAW ON ELECTION DISTRICTS July 2002 International Foundation for Election Systems Macedonia Office Leninova 5-A, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia Tel: (+389 2) 223-003, 223-150, 223-253 Fax: (+389 2) 298 330 E-mail: [email protected] Introductory Note IFES Macedonia has translated the package of election laws passed by Parliament in June. This package of new laws includes: • Law on Election of Members of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia (LEMP); • Law on Voters’ List (LVL); and • Law on Election Districts for Election of Members of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. The translations contained herein are of the laws published in the Official Gazette. The LEMP and LVL were published on June 25th; the Law on Election Districts was published on June 26th. IFES Macedonia has strived to achieve in these translations both clarity and faithfulness to the original – not always an easy task, as there are instances of both awkwardness and ambiguity in the Macedonian language versions. We have used the convention of “translators notes” in an effort to clarify the text, to describe our choice of language and to indicate where a lack of clarity exists in the original. These notes appear as footnotes in our translations of the LEMP and LVL. There are no footnotes in the original Macedonian. Dan Blessington Project Director July 2002 Annotated Unofficial Translation July 2, 2002 Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 42/2002; Date Published: 25 – June – 2002 Law on Election of Members of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia I. BASIC PROVISIONS Law on Election of Members of Parliament Parliament of Members of Election on Law Article 1 This Law regulates the manner, conditions and procedure for the election of Members of Parliament1 of the Republic of Macedonia. Article 2 (1) In the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia 120 Members of Parliament shall be elected according to the proportional model, whereby the territory of the Republic of Macedonia shall be divided into 6 election districts determined by law, each of which shall elect 20 Members of Parliament. (2) The number of voters in the election districts may deviate at most from minus 3% up to plus 3% in regard to the average number of voters in the election district. Article 3 (1) Members of Parliament are elected in general, direct and free elections, by secret ballot. (2) Nobody is allowed to call the voter to account for his voting, or ask him to say for whom he has voted or why he has not voted. Article 4 Every citizen of the Republic of Macedonia who has turned 18 years of age and has working capacity2 shall have a right to vote. 1 Translators’ note: The Macedonian language term for “Member of Parliament” is roughly equivalent to the English term “deputy”. However, in order to avoid confusion with the use of the term “deputy” as a replacement, e.g., “deputy to a member of the State Election Commission,” we decided to use the term “Member of Parliament.” 2 Translators’ note: The term “working capacity” is defined in the Law on Non-contentious Procedure, Article 34. 1 Annotated Unofficial Translation July 2, 2002 Article 5 Each citizen of the Republic of Macedonia shall have the right to be elected for Member of Parliament, if he: - has turned 18 years of age; - has working capacity; - is not serving a sentence of imprisonment for a committed criminal offence. Members of Parliament Members of f Article 6 (1) The office of a Member of Parliament is incompatible with the office of President of the Republic of Macedonia, President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia3, minister, judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Election Law on o Macedonia, judge, public prosecutor, ombudsman and with other holders of offices elected or appointed by the Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. (2) A Member of Parliament's office is incompatible with the office of a mayor and member of a council in a municipality and the City of Skopje. (3) A Member of Parliament's office is incompatible with the performance of expert and administrative matters in the bodies of the state administration. (4) A Member of Parliament’s office is incompatible with the performance of economic or other profit making activities. (5) A Member of the Parliament’s office is incompatible with membership in executive bodies of public enterprises, public institutions, funds, agencies, bureaus and other legal entities, as well as election as representative of the state and social property of trading companies. (6) The office of the holders of offices under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall terminate on the day of verification of the mandate as Member of Parliament. (7) The employment of the persons, referred to in paragraph (3) of this Article shall be suspended on the day of verification of the mandate as Member of the Parliament. (8) The economic or other profit-making activity of the persons referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 shall be suspended on the day of verification of the mandate for Member of the Parliament. Article 7 (1) The employment of the members of the armed forces of the Republic of Macedonia, the uniformed members of the Republic of Macedonia Police, the 3 Translators’ note: This position is most often referred to as Prime Minister. 2 Annotated Unofficial Translation July 2, 2002 authorized officials in the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Intelligence Agency shall cease temporarily on the day they are determined as candidates for Members of Parliament. (2) The employment of the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall cease temporarily on the day of verification of their mandate as Members of Parliament. Article 8 (1) The Members of Parliament may not be recalled4. (2) The office of a Member of Parliament shall be performed professionally. Parliament of Members of Election on Law Article 9 (1) Elections for Members of Parliament are held every fourth year, in the last 90 days of the mandate of the old Parliament composition or within 60 days of the day of dissolving the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: Parliament). (2) Early elections for Members of Parliament shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Law. (3) The mandate of the Members of Parliament shall last from the day of its certification until the day of certification of the mandate of the newly elected Members of Parliament. (4) The Election Announcement Act shall be passed by the President of the Parliament and it shall specify the day on which the deadlines for performing election activities begin and the Election Day. (5) The Election Announcement Act shall be submitted to the State Election Commission and the Ministry of Justice. (6) From the day of announcing the elections, until the day of holding the elections, a period of not more than 90 days, nor less than 70 days may pass. (7) The Election Announcement Act shall be published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia". Article 10 (1) Activities, acts, submissions, and other documents relating to the carrying out of the elections for Members of Parliament are exempted from paying fees and all activities within the electoral procedure are exempted from taxes of all kinds. (2) No Value Added Tax shall be paid for the printing of ballots or for the procurement of election material. 4 Translators’ note: In this context “recalled” is interpreted as meaning “removed from office”. 3 Annotated Unofficial Translation July 2, 2002 II. BODIES IN CHARGE OF CONDUCTING THE ELECTIONS Article 11 Bodies in charge of conducting the elections are: - The State Election Commission; - The Election Commission of the Election District (hereinafter: Regional Election Commission); - Municipal Election Commissions; and - Electoral Boards. Law on Election of Members of Parliament Parliament of Members of Election on Law Article 12 (1) The State Election Commission is composed of a president, eight members and their deputies. (2) The State Election Commission has a Secretary and his deputy. (3) The president of the State Election Commission and his deputy shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of Macedonia. (4) The members of the State Election Commission, the Secretary, and their deputies shall be appointed by the Parliament. Article 13 (1) Two members of the State Election Commission shall be appointed from among the judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, while their deputies from among eminent attorneys and lawyers with the agreement of the political parties in opposition, which have won the largest number of votes in the last elections for Members of Parliament. (2) Two members of the State Election Commission shall be appointed from among the judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, while their deputies from among eminent attorneys and lawyers, with the agreement of the ruling political parties, which have won the largest number of votes in the last elections for Members of Parliament. (3) The president of the State Election Commission, his deputy and the members and their deputies, referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, shall be appointed for a period of 5 years. (4) Two members of the State Election Commission and their deputies shall be proposed by the political parties in opposition, which have won the largest number of votes in the last elections for Members of Parliament. 4 Annotated Unofficial Translation July 2, 2002 (5) Two members of the State Election Commission and their deputies shall be proposed by the ruling political parties, which have won the largest number of votes in the last elections for Members of Parliament.