Ombudsman Naser Ziberi condemned the attempt by Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski to force citizens with valid identity documents to seek new passports, identity cards and driver licenses, because their current documents don’t have the imposed name “North Macedonia” on them.

The move created chaos in the passport service, and prompted concerns that Spasovski is doing this on purpose to deny the right to vote to possibly tens of thousands of citizens.

If this is an obligation imposed by the state, it is logical that the state bears the costs. Citizens should not be exposed to additional costs. This obligation is not imposed on them by their fault, they still have valid documents. I believe that citizens should be spared of the expenses in this case, Ziberi told Alfa TV.