Interior Minister Nake Culev warned that all election violation will be punished severely by the police, no matter which party is responsible.

Our main goal is having peaceful, safe, fair and democratic elections, Culev said, after a visit to Veles and Kavadarci, where he met with the local police chiefs.

He said that the main focus will be on cases of threats and blackmails aimed at votes, as well as the bribery attempts. Over the past months, the ruling SDSM party was frequently seen distributing “coronavirus aid” packages of food in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Macedonia, which was seen as a clear attempt to buy votes in the run up to the elections.