Lists of 15 Coalitions and Parties Submitted to SEC

15 coalitions and parties submitted candidate lists to the State Election Commission by midnight on 12 March, most of them submitting candidate lists for all six constituencies, and a few for diaspora voting. Candidate lists for the six constituencies and for the diaspora were submitted by the coalition “Never North, Always Macedonia”, DUI, the “We Can” coalition led by SDSM and BESA, the coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE “Renew Macedonia”, the INTEGRA political party and the party Demokrati. Sec received candidate lists for six constituencies from the Coalition Alliance for Albanians and Alternativa, Levica and the Labor Party. In total 15 coalitions and parties have submitted lists to the SEC before the deadline which was March 12 at midnight. After submitting the candidate lists, SEC checks that they have been submitted within the prescribed deadline and have been compiled in accordance with the Electoral Code. Candidate lists submitted after the deadline will be rejected. If the lists are found to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Code, they shall be confirmed within 48 hours of the receipt of the required documentation from the institutions. SEC has also set deadlines for removing any irregularities or replacing candidates if necessary. The order of the parties and coalitions on the ballot shall be determined by drawing lots and that number shall be the same in all constituencies. The drawing should be held no later than 20 March, and the lists should be officially announced on 21 March. The election campaign begins on 23 March and ends on 10 April at midnight. On Sunday, SEC President, Oliver Derkoski informed that all political party lists should be confirmed on Tuesday at the latest and informs that the delays are because of the latest changes to the Election Code. In view of the Security Council called by President Stevo Pendarovski on Monday, SEC although recognizing they have no jurisdiction on the matter, recommend that the elections are not held on 12 April. They explain that only in the election committees, the members count 35.000, and there are many other people involved as well, all of whom find necessary to communicate with each other both before and on the day of the election.