The Committee on infectious diseases prepared a protocol that should be used during the next elections, to reduce the number of voters who will get infected.

According to the proposal, the campaign events should require keeping participants at a distance of 1,5 to 2 meters, which would prevent the usual mass rallies. All participants will have to wear masks. During canvassing, party representatives would not be allowed to enter the homes of the voters and should maintain distance. Meetings in party offices will have to be restricted to two hours at most, and the offices would have to be ventilated and cleaned afterwards.

On election day, the polling places would need to have disinfectant at hand, and voters will have to keep their distance, clean their hands before entering, identify themselves with a photo document and remove their masks briefly, then put them back on. Voting that usually lasts for 12 hours should be extended to 14 hours, the Committee proposed.

Party leaders met earlier this week to discuss a way out of the latest political crisis, as SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev pushes for a vote as early as June or early July. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party insists that the vote takes place once the epidemic is fully under control and it is safe to vote, to avoid the danger of voters dying as a result of the election.