CG(16)16REP
11 May 2009
STANDING COMMITTEE
Local elections in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
(observed on 22 March 2009)
Paolo Rondelli, (San Marino, L, SOC[1])
Explanatory Memorandum
Bureau of the Congress
Summary:
Following the official invitation from the authorities of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” to observe the elections for municipal mayors and for members of municipal councils on Sunday 22 March 2009, the Congress appointed an observer delegation, headed by Ludmila Sfirloaga, President of the Congress Chamber of Regions and with Paolo Rondelli as Rapporteur (the full composition of the delegation is detailed in Appendix I). The delegation was composed of six members of the Congress and four members of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions.
The delegation concluded that the elections were in line with international and european electoral standards and technically well organised. There were conducted in a calm atmosphere and in an orderly fashion. The delegation regretted however that local elections were overshadowed by the presidential election which were held at the same time.
Table of contents
3. The electoral procedure and regulations
Appendix I - Composition of the Congress delegation
Appendix II - Joint press release issued by Congress delegation,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, OSCE/ODHIR and
OSCE Parliamentary assembly on 23 March 2009
Appendix III - Programme of meetings and briefings attended by the Congress delegation
Appendix IV - Deployment areas on 22 March 2009
1. Introduction
1. Following an official invitation from “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” authorities to observe the elections for municipal mayors and for members of municipal councils on Sunday 22 March 2009, the Bureau of the Congress decided to respond positively and appointed an observer delegation.
2. The delegation, headed by Ms Ludmila Sfirloaga, President of the Congress Chamber of Regions, was composed of Members of the Congress as well as Members of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions, accompanied by Congress Secretariat. The Congress observer team formed a unique group, as the Members were democratically elected representatives from their respective countries, rendering full legitimacy to the peer exchange and observation of electoral practices. In parallel, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe observed the presidential elections which were held at the same time. It was the first time that municipal elections were held concurrently with the presidential election. The Parliamentary Assembly ad hoc committee formed part of an international election observation mission established for the observation of the presidential elections (including the OSCE/ODIHR and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly).
3. The Congress delegation would particularly like to thank Ambassador Peter Eicher, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election observation mission to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and his staff for the excellent cooperation both politically and with regard to preparing the practical aspects of the mission. The OSCE/ODIHR had a team of long term observers deployed around the country preparing the observation exercise for presidential and municipal election day and it deployed over 360 short term observers from 25 countries.
4. The Congress also wishes to express its thanks to Mr Gjorgji Jovanovski, Director of the Information Office of the Council of Europe in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and his staff for the assistance provided throughout the observation mission.
2. Programme of meetings
5. In the days preceding the elections, the delegation met with Mr Musa Xhaferi, Minister of Local Self-Government, Mr Aleksandar Novakoski, President of the State Electoral Commission, Mr Koce Trajanovski, President of ZELS (Association of the Units of Local Self Government), Ambassador Erwan Fouere, Special Representative of the European Union, Ambassador Natalya Drozd, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Peter Eicher, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission to Skopje, Mr Tito Petkovski, Ms Mirjana Najcevska, Mr Dusko Popovski, Mr Argetim Nagavci, Mr Lazar Elenovski, Mr Straso Angelovski, Mr Janko Bacev, Mr Koce Trajanovski, candidates for mayor of Skopje from different political parties and representatives of the media. The delegation also met, on Saturday afternoon in their deployment areas, with candidates for mayor, Municipal Election Commissions and representatives of the media. The Congress would like to thank all those listed in the programmes for the useful information provided and for their readiness to meet the Congress members during the mission. The final programmes of the briefings and meetings organised before the election round is set out in Appendix III.
6. The delegation was divided into six teams covering six areas of the country: Ms Ludmila Sfirloaga (Romania, SOC, R) and Mr Jean-Philippe Bozouls (Congress Secretariat, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities) in Skopje, Ms Rositsa Yanakieva (Bulgaria, SOC, L), Mr Joseph Cordina (Malta, COR) and Ms Gordana Tetchner (Congress Secretariat, Assistant) in Skopje area, Mr Paolo Rondelli (San Marino, SOC, L) and Ms Laurence Dadoun (Congress Secretariat, Deputy to the Head of the Co-ordination and Management Division of the Congress, Co-ordination of election observation) in Tetovo, Ms Doreen Huddart (UK, COR) and Mr Marin Heatley (UK, COR) in Kumanovo, Ms Hanna Richtermocova, (Czech Republic, NR, L) and Mr Uno Silberg (Estonia, COR) in Struga, Mr Ott Kasuri (Estonia, ILDG, L) and Mr Viacheslav Rogov (Russian Federation, ILDG, L) in Strumica.
3. The electoral procedure and regulations
7. The legal framework for the municipal elections is consolidated in an Electoral Code adopted in 2006 and amended by the Parliament in October 2008. These amendments addressed several recommendations put forward by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, including more specific regulation of campaign financing and clarification of the role and responsibilities of different bodies in charge of adjudication of election complaints.
8. The Electoral Code provides that mayoral and municipal council elections be held every four years, with a special arrangement for the City of Skopje where voters elect the mayor and council of the city of Skopje as well as the mayor and municipal council of their individual municipality.
9. According to the Electoral Code, mayors are elected in the first round if they win more than 50 per cent of the votes cast, provided that at least one third of the voters registered in that municipality turn out to vote. It there is no first-round winner, a second round is held within two weeks between the two candidates who received the highest number of votes. Municipal councillors are elected by a proportional representation system with closed lists, without any turnout requirement.
10. The Electoral Code establishes a three-tier system for election administration in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”: the State Election Commission (SEC), 84 Municipal Election Commission (MECs) and the Election Commission of the City of Skopje, and 2,976 Electoral Boards (EBs).
11. Following the 2008 amendments of the Electoral Code, Article 27 stipulates that from among the candidates on the draft lists, the parties in opposition shall propose the President of the SEC and two members of the SEC and the ruling parties shall propose the deputy president and three members of the SEC.
12. The composition of EBs is regulated by Articles 38 and 39 which have also been modified in order to guarantee a better political balance. EBs consist of a president ans four members and their deputies, with one member nominated jointly by the two largest political parties in the Parliament, and one jointly nominated by the two largest political parties in opposition. The other members are civil servants.
13. According to the Electoral Code, national minorities which make up at least 20 per cent of the population must be included on election commissions in all areas and election materials must be provided in minority languages in such areas.
14. The official election campaign began on 2 March and ran until 21 March. 1,792,082 voters were registered on the voter lists, which were contested by most of the political parties. The large number of citizens residing abroad who are on the lists raises a serious possibility of manipulation. The Congress delegation regrets that the OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission of the Council of Europe recommendation to undertake a thorough audit of the lists has not yet been implemented.
15. 374 mayoral candidates and 703 candidate lists were submitted for the election of 84 mayors and municipal councils, and the mayor and municipal council of the city of Skopje (which comprises 10 municipalities). Some 33 mayoral candidates represented communities other than ethnic Macedonians or ethnic Albanians. Two-thirds of these belong to parties representing their ethnic groups.
4. The campaign
16. According to the information received, the campaign was fair and democratic without major incidents. Parties and candidates sought to minimise conflicts between them and they undertook to respect a joint code of conduct to participate in democratic elections and refrain from any irregular illegal activities. Furthermore, in order to maintain public order on election day, the Ministry of Interior put in place a nationwide police security plan.
17. As noted by the Congress observers on the days preceding the elections, the campaign was very visible throughout the country, with widespread use of posters and commercial billboards.
18. During the meetings with the candidates of several of the major parties participating in the elections and with the OSCE/ODIHR mission, the delegation heard several allegations of intimidation and pressure, particularly allegations of threats of loss of government employment, pensions, loss of housing for some of those supporting opposition candidates and vote buying. A few days before the first round of the election, the Prime Minister addressed this issue but in such a way that did not fully address the lack of confidence.
19. The conduct of the media during the electoral campaign is regulated by the Electoral Code as amended in October 2008 and by the Law on Broadcasting Activity. The Broadcasting Council, which is the media supervisory body, adopted regulations for the official campaign period stipulating that the coverage of candidates in the municipal elections by national media should be proportional to the number of mayoral candidates and councillor lists of each party.
20. During its meeting with the representatives of the media, the delegation was informed that the media included 150 television and radio stations. The media presented electoral and campaign information in a wide range of broadcasts, but they tended to focus their coverage on the presidential election rather than the municipal contests, although MTV1 granted three minutes of free airtime to each mayoral candidate. The delegation was also informed that some candidates from the ruling party refused to take part in debates with other candidates from the opposition.
21. The participation of women in the political process remains low. There were just 14 women candidates for mayor, running in 11 municipalities (3,8% of the 364 candidates). Although Article 64 of the Electoral Code, which mentioned that one in every three places on candidate lists for municipal council must be occupied by the “less represented gender”, was properly implemented, the delegation deplores the under-representation of women in leadership positions in political parties.
5. Observation on polling day
22. As mentioned above, the delegation was divided in six teams covered six different districts. The polling stations were open from 7am to 7pm. Six polling station openings were observed and all procedures were seen to be undertaken in a professional and transparent manner. The Congress teams also observed closing and counting procedures in six polling stations and concluded that, as with the opening procedures, there were no serious irregularities. During the vote counting, the observers reported significant procedural errors, with regard to the reconciliation of figures and the setting aside of ballots once they had been counted.
23. By the end of the day the six teams had between them visited approximately 97 polling stations.
24. Due to severe weather conditions, the members were informed that 124 polling stations were unable to open, affecting 12,556 voters.
25. The polling was generally calm and orderly throughout the country and the voting process was observed to run smoothly in the vast majority of the polling stations.
26. The simultaneous organisation of local and presidential elections gave rise to procedures which voters found difficult to understand and to follow. However, in most cases the EBs were able to assist the voters concerned.
27. The delegation observed considerable inadequacies In the polling stations visited, both with regard to the size and the number of polling stations, resulting in overcrowding and long waiting times to vote. The delegation suggests that the SEC review the selection and distribution of polling stations accordingly.
28. Furthermore, a number of polling stations were located in school premises where, although smoking was not allowed, the delegation noted that the non-smoking environment was not respected.
29. The delegation met domestic observers from the NGO "MOST" and from political parties in all polling stations visited by the six teams.
30. The delegation emphasized that the knowledge of voting procedures varied according to the polling stations visited and not all members of the EBs appeared to be fully aware of the procedures to be followed. The delegation noticed that not all members of EBs had received prior relevant training from the municipal election commissions and the SEC. In this respect, there is a need for timely and adequate training of all officials, in particular the presidents of EBs, to better understand the electoral standards.
31. Ballot papers were sometimes placed in the wrong ballot box because of the multiple elections and the relatively similar ballot papers, especially in Skopje, where voters had to cope with five ballot papers. In case of multiple elections, the delegation considers it is essential that voters are easily able to distinguish between the different ballot papers, preferably by printing them on paper of clearly distinguishable colours.
32. The Congress observers also noted some family voting, especially in predominantly ethnic Albanian municipalities. Family voting is understood in this context to be when a husband and wife enter the voting booth together or when the husband takes and fills in the ballot paper of his wife and sometimes those of his children as well.
33. Several instances of assisted voting were observed on election day. Some elderly people requested to be assisted by family members and one a few occasions assistance by polling commission members was also observed.
34. Members of the delegation noticed that a guidance manual for organising the election was widely present in polling stations.
35. The Congress underlined the limited accessibility of the majority of polling stations for people with disabilities and considers that efforts should be made in order to guarantee greater accessibility to polling stations.
6. Election results
a. First Round
36. According to the results announced by to the SEC, the turnout in the first round was approximately 57%.
37. 35 mayoral candidates were elected in the first round on 22 March. The Macedonian Internal Revolutionary Organisation – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) gained 25 municipalities, followed by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia Party (SDSM) which gained four municipalities, the ethnic-Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) four municipalities and the Democratic Party of Turks and the Movement for National Unity of Turks, one each.
38. In 43 municipalities (including Struga and Tetovo) and the City of Skopje, a second round of mayoral elections was held on 5 April because no candidate received the required majority in the first round.
39. In Kumanovo and in Strumica, the candidates from SDSM party won in the first round with 53,44% and 60,17% respectively.
40. In addition, first round mayoral and/or municipal elections were not held on 5 April at 124 polling stations in various parts of the country. Of these 118 had not been able to open on 22 March due to weather conditions and six were cancelled during the complaints process. According to the SEC, the number of voters registered at these polling stations could have affected the results for election of mayor in eight municipalities and the results of municipal council elections in 23 municipalities.
b. Second Round
41. The Congress did not observe the second round of the municipal elections held on 5 April.
42. According to the SEC, the results for the second round were as follows: VMRO-DPMNE won mayoral seats in 30 municipalities plus the City of Skopje, SDSM won three municipalities, DUI won seven municipalities, Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), Roma Alliance and an independent candidate won one each.
43. In the City of Skopje, the candidate from VMRO-DPMNE won with 62,13% against the SDSM candidate.
44. In Tetovo, the candidate from DPA won the municipal election and the DUI candidate won in Struga.
45. In the repeated first round, seven mayors were elected, two from VMRO-DPMNE, two from DUI, two independent candidates and one from the Radical Party of Serbs.
46. At the end of the second round, the governing party VMRO-DPMNE won 55 municipalities whereas the co-ruling party DUI lost two big municipalities (Tetovo and Gostivar).
7. Conclusion
47. In general it was concluded that the elections were technically well organised and in line with international and European electoral standards.
48. The election was conducted in a calm atmosphere and orderly fashion, without any incidents. The security and public order at polling stations was duly ensured.
49. However, the delegation regrets that local campaigns were overshadowed by the presidential election. In this respect, the observer teams encourage the government to consider separating local and national elections to afford municipal elections their due importance.
50. The observers also regretted that there were only 14 women candidates for the position of mayor, out of a total 364 candidates. The Congress considers that the number of the women candidates is much lower than it should be.
51. For the future, there is a necessity to ensure adequate training members of Electoral Boards, especially the presidents of the Boards.
52. The delegation strongly recommends the authorities to make additional efforts to facilitate access for voters with disabilities.
53. Finally, the delegation strongly encourages the authorities to prohibit people smoking in school premises, where a number of polling stations were located and which were opened again for children the day after the elections.
54. The Congress delegation held a joint press conference with OSCE/ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 23 March to report on the findings of the election observation mission. The press release issued on 23 March is enclosed in the Appendices.
The recommendations of the Congress to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” authorities based on the observation of the local elections are presented in document CG(16)16REC.
Appendix I
Composition of the Congress delegation
Congress / Congrès
Ø Ludmila Sfirloaga, President of the Chamber of Regions, President of Councillor, Prahova County Council (Romania, SOC, R) – Head of Delegation
Ø Paolo Rondelli, Municipal councillor of San Marino, (San Marino, SOC, L) - Rapporteur
Ø Ott Kazuri, Mayor of Harku Municipality, (Estonia, ILDG, L)
Ø Viacheslav Rogov, Head, City of Pokrov (Vladimir Region),(Russian Federation, ILDG, L)
Ø Hanna Richtermocova, Deputy Mayor, City of Horice, (Czech Republic, NR, L)
Ø Rositsa Yanakieva, Mayor of Pernik municipality, (Bulgaria, SOC, L)
EU Committee of the Regions / Comité des Régions de l’UE
Ø Ms Doreen Huddart, (UK/ALDE), Member of Newcastle City Council
Ø Mr Joseph Cordina, (MT/PES), Mayor of Xaghra
Ø Mr Martin Heatley, (UK/EPP), Member of Warwickshire County Council
Ø Mr Uno Silberg, Vice-President of Committee of the Regions
Congress Secretariat / Secrétariat du Congrès
Ø Jean-Philippe Bozouls, Head of Service I, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Local Authorities
Ø Laurence Dadoun, Deputy to the Head of the Co-ordination and Management Division of the Congress,
Co-ordination of election observation
Ø Gordana Tetchner, Assistant
Appendix II
Joint press release issued by Congress delegation, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, OSCE/ODHIR and OSCE Parliamentary assembly on 23 March 2009
Elections met most international standards, despite some remaining challenges, observers in Skopje say
SKOPJE, 23 March 2009 – The first round of yesterday’s presidential and municipal elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met most international standards, although some challenges remain to be addressed, an international election observation mission said in a statement released today (attached).
The elections were well administered and free of the violent incidents that clouded last year’s parliamentary elections. Election day was peaceful and the voting process was generally well managed, although there were procedural irregularities and the counting process was assessed less positively.
The authorities and political party leaders made concerted efforts to ensure the elections took place in a calm environment. The elections were preceded by a vigorous and highly visible campaign, with a multiplicity of candidates and parties providing a genuine choice for the voters. However, the observers also noted that an atmosphere of distrust persisted to some extent, as demonstrated by numerous troubling allegations of election-related pressure or intimidation, especially targeting public employees, during the pre-election period.
“It is a pleasure for me to see that this country has made a number of steps along the democratic road that it returned to during the rerun of the elections last summer. Irregularities and a lack of trust remain – and these must be dealt with – but there is no doubt that you have made further progress in holding elections according to international commitments,” said OSCE PA Vice President Pia Christmas-Møller, Special Co-ordinator appointed to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission.
“The authorities and main political actors learnt positive lessons from the June 2008 parliamentary elections. Security during this election campaign and on voting day was significantly improved. It is clear that this presidential election made progress in restoring the confidence of citizens through a democratic process,” said Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin, Head of the PACE delegation.
“The first round, despite some issues of concern, represents an important step forward. We will be watching closely for continued progress in the second round,” said Peter Eicher, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR long-term election observation mission.
“We welcome that the municipal elections were held in line with most European standards, but we regret that local campaigns were overshadowed by the presidential election. We encourage the government to consider separating local and national elections to afford municipal polls their due importance,” said Ludmila Sfirloaga, Head of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities delegation.
The international election observation mission is a joint undertaking of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities also subscribed to the joint statement.
For further information contact:
Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR, mobile: +389 (0) 70 666 044 or +48 603 683 122, [email protected]
Andreas Baker, OSCE PA, mobile: +389 (0) 70665889 or +45 60108030, [email protected]
Chemavon Chahbazian, PACE, mobile: +33 6621 39351, [email protected]
Jean-Philippe Bozouls, Congress, mobile: +33 672754297, [email protected]
Appendix III
Programme of meetings and briefings attended by the Congress delegation
on 19 and 20 March 2009
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Arrival of the delegation at the airport Alexander the Great in Skopje
Friday, 20 March 2009
09.00 – 09.50 Delegation briefing
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
10.00 – 10.50 Meeting with Ambassador Erwan Fouere, Special Representative of the European Union and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission
Venue: EU Mission in Skopje
11.00 – 11.50 Meeting with Mr Musa Xhaferi, Minister of Local Self-Government
Venue: Ministry of Local Self-Government
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.15 - 14.00 Meeting with Mr Koce Trajanovski, Mayor of the Municipality Gazi Baba, current President of ZELS (Association of the Units of Local Self Government) and candidate for Mayor of Skopje of VMRO-DPMNE and Ms Dusica Perisic, Executive Director of ZELS
Venue: ZELS premises - Address: Zenevska Str. bb.
14.15 – 15.00 Meeting with Ambassador Jose-LuisHerrero, Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitoring Mission to Skopje and Ambassador Natalya Drozd, Deputy Head of OSCE Mission
Venue: OSCE Monitoring Mission
15.00 – 17.00 Meetings with candidates for Mayor of Skopje from different political parties Round table with all candidates
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
Mr Tito Petkovski, candidate for Mayor of Skopje supported by NSDP and SDSM
Ms Mirjana Najcevska, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, nominated by the
Liberal-Democratic Party
Mr Dusko Popovski, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, nominated by the Liberal
Party of Macedonia
Mr Argetim Nagavci, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, political party New
Democracy
Mr Lazar Elenovski, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, political party Social-
Democratic Union
Mr Straso Angelovski, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, nominated by the VMRO - People’s Party
Mr Janko Bacev, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, NDM
Mr Koce Trajanovski, candidate for Mayor of Skopje, VMRO-DPMNE
17.00 – 18.00 Meeting with the staff of the Information Office of the Council of Europen Skopje
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
Saturday, 21 March 2009
9.00 – 10.00 Meeting with Ambassador Peter Eicher, Head of the ODIHR Mission to Skopje
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
10.15 – 11.00 Meeting with Mr Aleksandar Novakoski, President of the SEC
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
11.15 – 12.00 Meeting with Media representatives (Mr Dragan Antonovski, Sitel TV; Ms Tamara Grncaroska, Utrinski Vesnik daily; Mr Muharem Zekiri, Alsat M TV)
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Galeb meeting room)
12.00 – 13.30 Lunch
DEPLOYMENTS OF THE TEAMS 3,4,5 and 6 WITH DRIVERS AND INTERPRETERS
TEAM 3 (Tetovo)
12.00 Departure to Tetovo
13.00 Meeting with Hazbi Lika – DUI, mayor Candidate, and the actual mayor: Venue: municipality building-Tetovo
14.00 Meeting with Sadi Bexheti – DPA, mayor-candidate
Venue: State University of Tetovo
15.00 Meeting with Branislav Svetozarevic – VMRO-DPMNE mayor candidate
Venue: across the court-Tetovo,VMRO-DPMNE headquarter offices
16.00 Meeting with Mahmut Jusufi – ND, mayor candidate
Venue: across the new medical school
17.00 Meeting with Zoran Tevdoski - SDSM mayor candidate
Venue: bul.”29 november”
18.00 Meeting with Tomislav Stojanoski -VMRO-DP & TMRO-VEP, mayor candidate
Venue: across the hospital
19.00 Meeting with Xhemile Alili, President of MEC Tetovo
Venue: municipality building nr.16
20.00 Meeting with Local Media - Tv Koha
TEAM 4 (Kumanovo)
14.00 Departure to Kumanovo
15.00 Meeting with Mayor candidate for Kumanovo Peter Pop Arsov (VMRO DPMNE)
Venue: to be decided and confirmed on Saturday morning
16.00 Meeting with Mayor candidate for Kumanovo Arif Latifi (DUI)
Venue: DUI office
17.00 Meeting with Mayor candidate and current mayor of Kumanovo Zoran Damjanovski (SDSM)
Venue: mayoral office
18.00 Meeting with Savo Stevcevski, President of MEC Kumanovo
Venue: municipality building of Kumanovo
19.00 Meeting with Stole Bozinovksi, Journalist for Utrinski Vesnik
Venue: Music School
TEAM 5 (Struga)
10.30 Departure to Struga
13.15 Meeting with PEI Candidate for Mayor - Mr. Fiat Canoski
Venue: FON University
14.00 Meeting with Mr. Afrim Bekteshi, President of MEC
Venue: MEC office
14.30 Meeting with Mr. Ramiz Merko (Current Mayor) – DUI, Candidate for Mayor
Venue: Municipality of Struga.
15.15 Meeting with Mr. Mendi Qyra - DPA, Candidate for Mayor
Venue: DPA office
16.00 Meeting with Mr. Slavko Koteski – VMRO, Candidate for Mayor
Venue: VMRO office
16.45 Meeting with Mr. Xhevdet Nasufi – ND, Candidate for Mayor
Venue: ND office
17.30 Meeting with TV Kaltrina – Fisnik Tateshi (Owner)
Venue: TV Kaltrina
TEAM 6 (Strumica)
10.00 Departure to Strumica
14.15 Meeting with Spase Gligorov, President of MEC and Vela Perovanovik, Vice President of MEC
Venue: Incubator 11th, October NN
15.00 Meeting with Silvana Boneva, VMRO-DPMNE Candidate for Mayor in Strumica
Venue: Braka Miladinovi, Central Headquarters, Strumica
16.00 Meeting with Mayor, Mr Zoran Zaev (SDSM)
Venue: St. Sandev Masev 1
17.30 Meeting with Gergy Kalaijia, Director of the TV Channel Vis
Venue: Incubator 11th, October NN
18.30 Meeting with George Zaprow, Owner & spouse of dir. of the TV Channel INTEL
Venue: Bratstrovo Edinstrvo 29
Sunday, 22 March 2009 Election day
Monday, 23 March 2009
10:00 – 12:00 De-briefing and preparation of press release
Venue: Hotel Holiday Inn (Biser meeting room)
14:00 – 15:00 Press Conference
Venue: Alexander Palace Hotel
Appendix IV
Deployment areas on 22 March 2009
|
Team |
Deployment Areas |
Team Composition |
|
1 |
Skopje |
Ms Ludmila Sfirloaga Mr Jean-Philippe Bozouls |
|
2 |
Skopje area |
Mr Joseph Cordina Ms Rositsa Yanakieva Ms Gordana Tetchner |
|
3 |
Tetovo |
Mr Paolo Rondelli Ms Laurence Dadoun |
|
4 |
Kumanovo |
Ms Doreen Huddart Mr Marin Heatley |
|
5 |
Struga |
Ms Hanna Richtermocova Mr Uno Silberg |
|
6 |
Strumica |
Mr Ott Kasuri Mr Viacheslav Rogov |
[1] L : Chamber of Local Authorities / R : Chamber of Regions
ILDG : Independent and Liberal Democrat Group of the Congress
EPP/CD : Group European People’s Party – Christian Democrats of the Congress
SOC : Socialist Group of the Congress
NR : Member not belonging to a Political Group of the Congress