Skopje, 24 April 2024 (MIA) - Head of the ODIHR election observation mission Jillian Stirk, who's had the opportunity to visit two polling stations this morning, said it has been a good start for the day, adding that the mission will do a complete assessment of how the process is unfolding once all data are gathered at the end of the day. 

"I’ve really only visited the two polling stations and since this morning everything was proceeding smoothly there. But these are just two out of many polling stations, so we can’t really draw conclusions until the end of the day," said Stirk. 

She noted that the mission has more than 200 observers in the country today, spread out all across the regions, as well as long-term observers who have been here since the mission was opened at the end of March. 

Stirk pointed out that the mission was here to observe the elections in North Macedonia, assessing them against international commitments and national legislation.   

"Collectively we’re assessing the entire electoral process from the legal framework to election administration issues like campaign finance and of course the role of the media. Tomorrow we’ll present our initial findings, we’ll be holding a press conference, you’re all very welcome to join us there and there will be an opportunity for questions after our short statement which I will make as well as our parliamentary partners from the Council of Europe," Stirk said. 

Photo: MIA