Pendarovski Will Not Sign Decree for Electoral Code Changes in Current Form

President Stevo Pendarovski has said on Friday that he will not sign the decree over the Changes to the Electoral Code if they are adopted in the current form. According to Pendarovski, the recommendations from the Mission of OSCE/ODIHR in the country clearly state that changes to the Electoral Code should not be adopted in a period of six months before an election is to take place. After the statement of President Pendarovski, Justice Minister Bojan Maricik announced that the draft-text of the law-changes to the Electoral Code will undergo improvements. “Our goal is to fully incorporate all recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR in these changes, and I hope we will be able to adopt them before the holiday period for the Parliament. It is good to make changes to the Electoral Code, especially with inclusion of OSCE/ODIHR’s recommendations,” Maricik said. The law-changes were subjected to criticism by many political parties and initiatives, since they foresee a threshold of signatures of 3% of voters in a specific municipality for registration of open lists and 2% of voters in a municipality for independent lists. The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption also came out with a stance that the text of the law-changes in its current form opens room for doubt for political corruption, and that they should not be adopted in a period of six months before an election is to take place.