SDSM: Fair Elections Are an EU Requirement, Not Changes to the Electoral Code

SDSM representatives accuse others of deliberately manipulating the claim that the stalled Electoral Code is holding back Macedonia’s path toward the European Union.

According to the party, the European Union is not insisting on a new Electoral Code tailored to the interests of one political force, but is seeking credible, fair and transparent voting processes, an independent judiciary and a serious commitment to fighting corruption.

“This is precisely what VMRO-DPMNE has obstructed throughout all these years. Although improving the electoral framework is part of a broader reform agenda, the specific measures now being promoted by the executive are neither an obligation to the EU nor a precondition for advancing the talks. These are their own initiatives, not European ones.”

“These are mechanisms that create conditions for distortion and control of the electoral process, especially in the area of diaspora voting. Instead of focusing on protecting the will of the people, pressure is being exerted to adopt formulas that facilitate vote theft. This is not progress toward the EU, but a step backward toward anti-democratic practices that take us back to the Gruevski era.”

“The real blockade of the European perspective does not stem from the opposition. It comes from VMRO-DPMNE, which for two years has implemented no essential reforms and has kept Macedonia isolated. Clean votes are a prerequisite for the EU, not a law tailored to give the government an advantage. Anything beyond this is an attempt to conceal someone’s incompetence and corruption behind a European agenda,” SDSM said.