CIVIL Press: Elections irregularities continue

The electoral register turns to be a serious problem. Phantom voters, non-existing entrances and flats into buildings, moreover, entire buildings, deceased persons, deployed voters, are only part of the problems voters in Macedonia have been confronting, stated Xhabir Deralla from the non-governmental organisation CIVIL during today’s Press Conference.

Total of 86 citizens’ denunciations reached CIVIL since the beginning of the election campaign up to until today, in relation to various election irregularities.

“We, same as, we believe, many other relevant organisations approached the State Election Commission (SEC), and also journalists posed questions to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOI). The answers we all received were that they are not held competent for the matter and redirected the responsibility to other institutions. Therefore, we invite those responsible to finally show up and provide answers to these serious questions”“,CIVIL staff declared.

CIVIL has so far concluded that in Kisela Voda, entrances into three buildings were added, which exist in the electoral register, but not on the spot. Same is the situation with various buildings on the streets of Pushkinova and Mihail Chakarov. There are phantom families with registered domicile in Kisela Voda, and they do not even live there – there is a four-member family in one of these flats, but in the electoral register, they occur as a seven-member family. The inhabitants have already declared that they were unaware that another family, registered in the electoral register under their home address, has been living in their flat. CIVIL disposes with a video in which a citizen is witnessing a bribe offered to him of 500 MKD for a certain presidential candidate.

CIVIL appealed to SEC to do everything in their power to consolidate the quality of the work of the election boards and of the municipal election committees, as well as to provide faster and more quality responses to grievances lodged by citizens on the voting day.

“The institutions are fully divided party-wise and have been abused for party political purposes. Human and material resources are fully put into service for the political campaigns in the election process. Public administration has been working for the benefit of the party campaign, and not as per their job descriptions. Persons who have signed service contracts are producing lists, and they are not the only ones”, Deralla stated.

In the second round of the presidential elections and on the day of the extraordinary parliamentary elections, CIVIL shall be monitoring the elections with 116 observers. The citizens will be given the opportunity to denounce irregularities on the website freeelections.info as well as on the following telephone numbers: 02/5209-176 and 075/707-143.

On the voting day, 27 April, CIVIL – The Centre for Freedom, shall have its Open Press Centre in GEM Club, which shall be working from 07:00 hrs in the morning and up to until midnight. Press Conferences have been scheduled at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 22:00 and 00:00 hrs, whilst at 19:00 hrs, a panel discussion will take place with guests invited, holding expertise in various areas.

Meri Jordanovska