The municipal elections planned for 2021 should be held in a different format, with a single round, first-past-the-post model, VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski said. This would be a safer and more economical model, he added during his Kanal 5 TV interview.

Under the current model, the municipal councils seats are divided under a proportional model depending on the number of votes a party list gets, but electing a mayor most often requires a second round of voting, held two weeks after the first round.

This reform would save us millions that can be of use to families who don’t have computers and their children struggle to attend online teaching, Mickoski said.

He added that the model could extend to the general elections, with a mixed system under which half of the seats would be distributed through a proportional model in one electoral district, and the other half – from 60 separate districts that would send one representative to Parliament. This is similar to the model that was used for the 1998 elections, and would provide representation both for smaller parties, through the proportional model in a single district, but would also allow for representatives who are personally accountable to their voters.