Skopje, 24 April 2024 (MIA) – The State Election Commission (SEC) is expected to announce the initial unofficial results from the first round of the presidential elections around midnight.

“We are to hold another press conference at 7:30 pm to report on the overall turnout in the first round of the presidential elections. Since we’re receiving the data from the municipal election commissions with IT assistance, we’re hopeful to have results for over 50 percent by midnight and announce them,” SEC President Aleksandar Dashtevski said during an afternoon press conference.

When asked if there were any data about disruptions in voting at certain polling stations, he highlighted that official complaints and data exist only for three polling stations in Kumanovo, one where the seal was lost, and two because the biometric verification device was not functioning.

Dikmire Shehu explained that according to the Electoral Code, if voting has not commenced for more than three hours at a polling station, it is halted. Three polling stations in Kumanovo experienced such delays.

“In the other polling stations, voting is proceeding normally. In places where there has been an interruption of less than three hours, such as half an hour or one hour, voting will continue for the duration of the interruption. From the other polling stations, we have not received any official complaints at the SEC nor at the municipal election commissions, nor at the polling station committees, as we are in coordination with all of them,” SEC Vice President Shehu said.

When asked by a journalist whether the SEC has data showing deceased individuals on the Electoral Roll, she pointed out that the Commission obtains this information from the Ministry of Interior and the Registry Office.
She further stated that the SEC updates the Electoral Roll four times a year, using data received from other institutions, highlighting the ongoing coordination efforts.

Similarly, there have been cases where a certain number of voters were not found on the Electoral Roll, and as Dashtevski explained, they were allowed to file a complaint, which, as explained, is channeled to the SEC through the municipal election commissions.

Voter turnout in the first round of the presidential elections is 44.18% by 5 pm, according to the State Election Commission’s data from 1788 polling stations.

Out of a total 899.977 voters at these polling stations, 397.612 have voted, SEC President Aleksandar Dashtevski said at a press conference on Wednesday.