Voting is interrupted in the polling station in the village of Bojane, west of Skopje, where earlier today party activists attacked an observer in the Skopje mayoral election.

The observer is a member of an opposition party, while the attackers come from two parties from the ruling coalition. This incident was seen as possible indication of a broader trend, as Saraj has exceptionally low turnout, and this largely Albanian municipality is crucial to the re-election strategy of the ruling coalition. Removing opposition observers could allow ballot stuffing to make up for the low turnout later in the day, which was a common issue in elections in Saraj.

After the citizens of Saraj elected their local mayor and council in the first round, turnout dropped for the second round – it’s down to 15.85 percent at 15h, from 23 percent two weeks ago.