European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi spoke with the leaders of the two main parties in Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski and Zoran Zaev this evening, and warned that the elections must be held in a way that is fair and inclusive. The conversation comes as Zaev and his ruling SDSM party are trying to set a date for elections on their own, without reaching an agreement with other parties, and are pushing for a vote in early July which will obviously be the worst turnout election in Macedonian history. Macedonia is currently under a massive Second Wave of the coronavirus epidemic, with the number of deaths and infections worse than at the presumed peak in April, and SDSM has apparently concluded that a low turnout “corona election” will help the party grab a majority in Parliament.
Commissioner Varhelyi said that he stressed the “importance of free, fair and inclusive election” in Macedonia, and that while determining the date, the parties will ” take into account the Covid-19 situation as well as the need to efficiently address the economic recovery”.
The call for an inclusive election, that will take into account the dramatic coronavirus crisis, where Macedonia has ranked among the worst in Europe in the death rate and is being isolated by neighboring countries who are closing their borders, is a clear message to SDSM, who earlier this evening pushed a decree through the Government. According to SDSM, the order will mandate that the State Electoral Commission holds the elections 22 days after the SDSM appointed President of the country Stevo Pendarovski lifts the state of emergency. The head of the State Electoral Commission today said that the deadline is impossible to meet.
Several rounds of talks between VMRO and SDSM to reach agreement on an election date have failed as SDSM kept insisting on a date in late June. Later, as the coronavirus statistics got so bad that even Pendarovski was forced to extend the state of emergency, SDSM refocused on July 5. VMRO warns that this type of “corona elections” will cause a large number of deaths, given how badly the Government has managed the crisis so far and proposes dates in August or September, when the epidemic will be hopefully under control. Macedonia had seven deaths on Wednesday, only the second time we’ve had so many casualties in the epidemic so far, and more than 120 newly infected patients, which is also among the worst tolls. There were days this past week when Macedonia had more newly diagnosed patients that the rest of the Balkan countries – combined.
Commissioner Varhelyi already called on Macedonia to hold elections that will allow all parties to campaign. SDSM has violated the restrictions on movement and on public gatherings and has campaigned for months, despite the epidemic. Dozens of SDSM party officials including one Vice President of the party have been infected, and dozens more are in quarantine. SDSM has also bribed voters by distributing food packages in the poor, mostly Roma neighborhoods, during which the party paid zero attention to distancing and masks.
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