Skopje, 30 August 2023 (MIA) — The State Election Commission has asked the state to let it hire new employees before the upcoming 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections so it would be up to its task, SEC chairman Aleksandar Dashtevski told MIA.

Speaking after a session during which commission members discussed their proposed employment plans for 2023 and 2024, Dashtevski said the number of employees had dropped in the past couple of years.

"Since the 2021 elections, a number of people have retired, and others have left the institution. We have been asking the Ministry of Finance for new job openings, but we were denied due to the financial situation," he said.

They have now asked the finance authorities again. "It all depends on the Ministry of Finance and the available funds, but they will have to help us since the OSCE and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have recommended we increase the number of employees," Dashtevski said.

"They also pointed out that we have a lot of work and not enough people to do that work," he said. ssh/mr