Five proposals to prevent misuse of administrative resources in elections. At the technical table of the Special Parliamentary Commission for Electoral Reform, the head of the CEC, Ilirjan Celibashi, requested changes to the Electoral Code to strengthen the separation between the state and the ruling party.

The misuse of state resources and the blurring of the dividing line between the state and the ruling party, highlighted as the main problems in the latest OSCE/ODIHR report, require immediate addressing. This is the assessment of the head of the CEC, Ilirjan Celibashi. He is asking that the upcoming electoral reform strengthen legal guarantees in this regard and presents to political parties five concrete proposals. The first is the clear definition in the Electoral Code of the notion of “administrative and/or state resources.”

“This notion should include public funds, public assets, state vehicles, public buildings, administration personnel, electronic systems of institutions, state databases, official websites of public institutions and officials, institutional platforms on social networks, public communication campaigns, ceremonial activities, public programs, and any other institutional authority deriving from the exercise of public office. Such a definition should be placed directly in the Electoral Code and not be part of secondary legislation,” said Ilirjan Celibashi.

Celibashi also demands that the new Electoral Code clearly sanction the principle of separation between the state and the ruling party.

“In many OSCE countries, this is a principle with constitutional or legal value. Even in Albanian legislation, steps should be taken in this direction. Such a provision would serve as a basic norm upon which the entire administrative control system would be built,” he added.

Although the Electoral Code provides for a four-month moratorium on the prohibition of promoting certain public activities that could create an advantage for the ruling party, Celibashi demands that the boundaries of these activities be defined even more clearly.

“It should be clearly defined that during the election period, except for necessary cases of public interest or emergencies, the inaugurations of public works, promotional ceremonies of public investments, activities for presenting new projects funded by the state budget, the announcement of new subsidy or grant schemes, as well as the ceremonial distribution of individual administrative acts, are not allowed when this is not dictated by legal obligations or unavoidable deadlines. Also, there must be provisions that prohibit the publication of the activity of public institutions during a certain period, except when this is intended to inform the public about a concrete issue,” said the head of the CEC.

“There is no reason to publicize in any form the inspections of public works, even when they are genuine,” he added.

Celibashi also proposes a special regulation for institutional communication on official websites of institutions, social networks, public communication campaigns, audiovisual materials funded by public funds and institutional digital communication, as according to the head of the CEC, it has become the most sophisticated form of use of administrative resources.

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VMRO-DPMNE MP Bojan Stojanoski stated that the opposition is not aiming for a new Electoral Code, but a complete blockade. He noted that, after more than four months of intensive negotiations, the opposition’s demand to restart expert debates clearly shows that there is a tacit agreement among opposition parties to reject the draft laws. “We have negotiated for a long period, over four months, and at the moment when the law was supposed to be submitted, they backed down. This action naturally leads to the conclusion that the opposition simply has no will to approve this law and fulfill the last criterion imposed on us by the reform agenda,” said Stojanoski.

On the other hand, SDSM returned the accusation by linking VMRO-DPMNE’s insistence on uncontrolled diaspora voting to fear of personal accountability. According to SDSM, these so-called “great patriots,” equipped with Bulgarian citizenship, European documents, and signatures in Bulgaria, are worried about their individual fate and not the future of North Macedonia. “They want to manipulate the future electoral process, in order to delay the inevitable confrontation with justice. Citizens cannot be fooled. The era of lies, manipulation, and election theft is over,” emphasized SDSM.

Meanwhile, the “E Majta” (The Left) party sharply attacked the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) after the latter decided not to participate in the coordination meeting that “The Left” had announced it would call among opposition forces to unify positions on the electoral reform. According to this party, SDSM’s stance is a pure refusal for the sake of narrow party interests. “It is a significant indicator that the party which for years propagated the idea of a single electoral district, today refuses even to sit at the discussion table on this topic. If they truly still stand behind this concept, what prevents them from dialoguing? If they have changed their mind, then let them show integrity and openly admit it before their membership,” declared “The Left”.

As for the Albanian political entities, DUI MP Arbana Pasholli clarified that they have not received any official invitation for such a meeting, but underlined that the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) is always open to institutional dialogue. The common stance of the Albanian parties remains clear: the voting right for the diaspora must be guaranteed. This entire debate takes place at a critical moment, as the deadline for approving the amendments to the Electoral Code, foreseen as a condition in the reform agenda, expires on Wednesday.

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Today’s meeting focused on the remaining unresolved issues and on proposals aimed at aligning the election rules with OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.

The group members reviewed the initiatives brought forward by political parties and concluded that most of the solutions have already been harmonized, with a high level of agreement among the participants.

Tomorrow, the political parties are expected to submit their positions electronically on the remaining proposals, after which the final text of the legal amendments will be prepared.

The agreed solution is expected to go through a further legal procedure, continuing the reform of the electoral system./Telegrafi/

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