Skopje, 15 August 2021 (MIA) – There will be no changes to the Electoral Code ahead of the October 17 local elections, although parties have had lengthy discussions on them, said Prime Minister and SDSM leader Zoran Zaev on Sunday. “The Parliament Speaker informed me that the Electoral Code will stay as it is following the latest changes with the fingerprint voting and the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, in order to avoid remarks that things are done at the last minute, resulting in blockades to the law. Implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations has increased transparency and responsibility, whereas the fingerprint voting will guarantee fair and democratic elections,” PM Zaev told reporters. The remaining changes recommended by OSCE, the opposition parties and the media would be incorporated in the Electoral Code after the local elections. “One of the changes was to balance the threshold for independent lists, other related to political advertising, which will be tackled right after the elections. The Parliament has the final say, I am only sharing the latest information I received from the Speaker during the events marking the 20th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement a couple of days ago,” said Zaev. He added that SDSM would unveil the candidates for mayors and council members by August 25.