Zajkova: With pre-set “red lines,” consensus cannot be reached

Monika Zajkova, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), believes that talks on amendments to the Electoral Code are moving in a direction that is distancing political parties from a broader agreement. According to her, the core issues of the reform have remained outside any serious discussion, while the negotiations have been conditioned by pre-set “red lines.”

In an interview with “Sloboden Pechat,” Zajkova said that it was the parliamentary majority that set these “red lines,” thereby closing the space for debate on a possible consensus. She underlined that the LDP has raised the issue of introducing open lists in the working group at almost every meeting, but without achieving any result.

According to Zajkova, Macedonia needs open lists so that citizens can choose their own representatives and put an end, as she put it, to that leadership sultanate, where everyone shows loyalty to the leader only to be ranked higher on the list.

“There simply was no will, perhaps out of fear of losing power,” Zajkova said.

She stresses that open lists are the most important reform in the electoral process because they would strengthen the accountability of elected officials to voters, and not only to party leaders.