After revealing the creation of an Android app that was likely used to collect personal data from voters and even monitor their movements, the campaign staff of the opposition presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova today published the instruction manual which the ruling SDSM party prepared for the use of the application.

The application named KC SDSM Izbori 2019 was removed from Google Play after Siljanovska’s campaign held a press conference about it existence and accused the ruling SDSM party of violating the electoral laws with this app. An SDSM whistleblower informed the opposition that the application is created in order to manage voters on election day, harvest their data and even track them.

The manual instructs SDSM teams sent out to canvas voters on their approach and their messaging, but also insists that they “use the application and the provided paper lists”.

All collected data and impressions will be systematically summarized in the communal area and by target groups where additional activities will be directed… The “Spring Cleaning” needs to be intensified to the maximum and should be conducted non-stop throughout the campaign in the first and second round of elections, the instruction manual informs the canvasers.

Siljanovska’s team referred to this new form of harvesting voter data as “the Big Eye”, following the 2015 Big Ear wiretapping scandal, when SDSM published audio recordings given to the party by rogue intelligence service officers which were used for political effect.