For the upcoming elections in North Macedonia, ODIHR will request the secondment by OSCE participating States of 24 long-term observers to follow the electoral process countrywide, as well as 300 short-term observers to follow election day procedures, with the general assessment being that electoral legislation needs essential reforms, while preparations have started too late.
ODIHR says, inter alia, in its Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) Report that the Electoral Code was last amended shortly prior to the 2021 local elections and even though last year, a team of experts formed by the Justice Ministry, in which a representative from VMRO-DPMNE didn’t participate, started its work, the text of the changes disappeared from the public scene.