Skopje, 8 May 2023 (MIA) – The MPs from the smaller parliamentary parties – petitioners of the draft-law for amending and supplementing the Electoral Code, at a press conference Monday said that there should be a single electoral district without an electoral threshold, because, they said this would lead to a democratization of the country while also strengthening the responsibility of officials.

“According to polls, around 70 percent of citizens are in favor of a single electoral district, and the majority believe that this would make it possible for them to choose who to vote for. With the current six electoral districts, and the systemic advantages enjoyed by the four parties, two from the Government and two from the opposition, there is no equal opportunity for the political parties. Which is why we propose that Macedonia is made up of one electoral district,” said Pavle Trajanov from the Democratic Union, one of the petitioners of the legislation, noting that the concept doesn’t have an ethnic or any other dimension.

According to Trajanov, at this stage it is very difficult to carry out all the changes. The key issue right now is to have a single electoral district, he said, while all other elements can be adjusted through amendments.

Regarding DUI’s proposal of a single electoral district with an electoral threshold of five percent, Trajanov said that neither DUI nor any other Albanian party would be able to reach this threshold independently.

DOM Leader and MP Maja Morachanin said that they are in favor of a single electoral district without a threshold, open lists and 50 percent representation of women in the lists.

According to the Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Monika Zajkova, if there is a need for an electoral threshold, it shouldn’t stand at the proposed figure of five percent. She said this would be devastating for the small parties from the very beginning.

“But we could discuss a change in the mathematical formula of calculating votes, i.e., instead of the d’Hondt method, a proportional formula could be implemented, we think the most appropriate one would be the Hare quota, but all of this should be discussed by the working groups and a discussion should begin here as well,” said Zajkova.

Beycan İlyas, MP from the Democratic Party of Turks in Macedonia, said that this law would be a good foundation and the current situation does not reflect the ethnic makeup of society in Parliament.

The MP from VMRO-People’s Party, Ljupcho Balkovski, also said they agree with a solution of a single electoral district and noted that the new electoral model will contribute to greater democratization. He urged the larger political parties to support the legislation.

Photo: MIA