Parliamentary Elections, 5 July 2006

Following an invitation from the Foreign Ministry of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, ODIHR deployed an election observation mission on 30 May to observe the parliamentary elections on 5 July.

Headed by Ambassador Audrey Glover of the United Kingdom, the mission included a core team of 13 international experts and 20 long-term observers, who were deployed in Skopje and eight regional centers.

The mission was joined by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for election-day observation. Together, some 382 observers from 45 OSCE participating States were deployed.

According to the mission's final report: "While the 5 July 2006 parliamentary elections largely met OSCE commitments for democratic elections, instances of violence and intimidation during the first half of the campaign, and a number of cases of serious irregularities on election day, cast a shadow over an otherwise generally well-administered election held in a competitive environment."

Long-term observation

The Mission, headed by Ambassador Audrey Glover of the United Kingdom, included 13 international staff based at the Skopje head office and 20 long-term observers deployed in the regions.

The Mission assessed the entire election process in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections and national legislation. It focused on the campaign period, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of disputes.

Election day observation

The ODIHR requested 250 short-term observers from the OSCE participating States, who were deployed shortly before election day. The short-term observers were deployed around the country in teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

The day after the election day, the Election Observation Mission issued a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive final report will be released about eight weeks after the completion of the process.

Previous elections

The ODIHR has observed nine previous electoral events in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, including the 2005 local elections, 2004 referendum, 2004 presidential election, 2002 parliamentary elections, 2000 municipal elections and the 1999 presidential election.