“Membership in the European Union is one of the main topics of elections in North Macedonia, and political parties build their pre-election campaigns around this issue,” said majority MP and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Coordinator Nikoloz Samkharadze.

According to Nikoloz Samkharadze, the outcome of presidential and parliamentary elections yet is not clear in North Macedonia.

“The runoff presidential elections and parliamentary elections are held in North Macedonia. These are decisive elections since the country will launch negotiations on EU accession. Respectively, membership in the European Union is one of the main topics, and political parties build their pre-election campaigns around this issue. The environment is highly polarized, and North Macedonia does not differ from other European countries. We expect interesting elections.

The fate of neither presidential nor parliamentary elections is decided in North Macedonia. Political parties in this country are divided on ethnic grounds. There are two big Macedonian parties and two big Albanian parties. Presumably, these parties will form a coalition government.

As for our mission, this is the OSCE/ODIHR mission, though I will represent a Special Coordinator at the decision of the OSCE Chairman country. I will be a Special Coordinator, which united not only OSCE/ODIHR but also PACE and EP missions. It is a big responsibility.

The North Macedonian election system is fully proportional. 120 MPs are elected in the parliament by the election lists. The country is divided into six precincts, and 20 MPs will be elected from each precinct.

At the end of Election Day or the following day, we will know about the preliminary results of the presidential and parliamentary elections. The results will not be final, and there will be an opportunity to file complaints,” he said.

Nikoloz Samkharadze has been appointed as Special Coordinator of the OSCE PA at the parliamentary and presidential elections in North Macedonia.