CIVIL observer attacked in broad daylight!

A prominent member of DUI in the Municipality of Saraj, whose initials are S.M., has physically attacked an activist and member of CIVIL in broad daylight. The incident took place yesterday, November 1, near the roundabout in Gjorce Petrov, at 2:00 pm. CIVIL conducted serious checks of the area and verification of all data, requested a written statement from its observer, and secured the necessary documentation on the incident.

CIVIL concludes that the attacker is a member of the Election Board in the village of Laskarci, and the reason for the attack on our member is precisely because he was our observer, accredited by the State Election Commission and authorized by CIVIL, for observing the local elections at the polling station where the attacker was a member of the Election Board.

The attacker had been openly threatening CIVIL’s observers even on the day of the voting, October 29, because of which they were withdrawn, while the relevant institutions were publically called upon to react. Namely, during the election day, October 29, at 1:30 pm, CIVIL called on the SEC and the MOI to take measures to protect the election process in the village of Laskarci. We have no feedback on whether that happened, though yesterday’s attack shows us pretty well how things are.

The attacker noticed our observer in Gjorce Petrov yesterday and fiercely attacked him with fists, after which our observer sustained injuries that were ascertained from a health institution. The case was reported to the police yesterday.

CIVIL informs the public that the attacker is an influential member of the ruling party DUI, who dared to attack our observer in broad daylight, simply because he was responsibly carrying out his task as an accredited observer of the State Election Commission and authorized member of CIVIL’s monitoring team.

CIVIL strongly condemns this brutal act and categorically demands from the state institutions to protect our member and his family from further pressure and threats to their safety.

An attack on a member of CIVIL is an attack on the entire organization! At the same time, it is also an attack on the State Election Commission and represents a brutal attack on the entire election process and democracy in general.