Strasbourg, 24 February 2016 CDL-REF(2016)020

Engl. only
Opinion no. 700 / 2012
Opinion no. 851 / 2016

EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW

(VENICE COMMISSION)

ELECTORAL CODE

OF "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA"

(CONSOLIDATED VERSION as of November 2015)

__________________________

This document will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.
www.venice.coe.int
CDL-REF(2016)020 2

I. BASIC PROVISIONS

Article 1
This Code shall regulate the manner, conditions and procedure for election of the: President of
the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: "President of the Republic"), election of Members of the
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: "Members of Parliament"), election of the
Members of Council of units of Local Self-Government and the Council of the City of Skopje
(hereinafter: "Members of Council"), and election of the Mayors of municipalities and Mayor of
the City of Skopje (hereinafter: "Mayor"), the manner and the procedure of registering the right
to vote, maintaining of the Voters List, determining of the boundaries of the electoral districts
and determining, changing and publishing the polling stations as well as the conditions for
functioning of the polling stations.

1. List of terms
Article 2
Specific terms used in this Code shall have the following meaning:

1. Every citizen of the Republic of Macedonia who is at least 18 years of age and has
active legal capacity shall have the “Right to vote”;
2. The “Voters List” is public document in which all the citizens with a right to vote are
registered;
3. “Election management bodies” are the bodies in charge of administering the elections
determined in this Code;
4. “Member of an election management body” is the president, the members, and their
deputies; they compose the election management bodies and administer electoral
actions;
5. “List submitters” are registered political parties or coalitions of political parties registered
in the State Election Commission, group of voters and Members of Parliament;
6. “Candidate” is a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia confirmed by the competent
election commission in accordance with this Code, for whom votes will be cast in the
elections;
7. “Independent candidate” is a candidate for election of President of the Republic, Member
of Parliament, Mayor or Member of Council supported by a “group of voters”;
8. “Political party” is political party registered in accordance with the Law;
9. “Ruling Parties” are political parties in power that won the largest number of votes in the
last election for Members of Parliament;
10. “Opposition parties” is composed of the political parties in opposition that won the largest
number of votes in the last election for Members of Parliament;
11. “Authorised representative” is a person authorised by one of the registered candidates,
political party, or coalition to represent their interests before the election management
bodies;
12. “Coalition” is an association based on an agreement for joint participation in the elections
by, expressed by two or more registered political parties;
13. “Election campaign” is public presentation of the candidates, confirmed by the
authorised election management bodies, and their programmes in the pre-election
period of the respective election process;
14. “Participant in an election campaign” is a person who is authorised by a political party,
coalition or a group of voters that organise the election campaign;
15. “Observers” are representatives of domestic or foreign registered associations of citizens
accredited by the State Election Commission to observe the elections;
 3 CDL-REF(2016)020

16. “Diplomatic – consular offices of the Republic of Macedonia” are the representations of
the Republic of Macedonia in other states and international organizations that perform
tasks assigned by Law;
17. “Citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing
abroad”, according to this Code, are the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who have
a registered last residence in the Republic of Macedonia, and on Election Day are
temporarily residing abroad for the duration of more than three months or have a
temporary employment or residence abroad for more than one year, according to the
records of the competent body;
18. “Employees in the public administration” is a category of persons employed in the
education, health, culture, science and social protection sector who execute tasks of
public interest, in accordance with the Law;
19. “Employees in the state, municipal administration and administration of the City of
Skopje” is a category of persons with a status of civil servant in accordance with the
Law;
20. “Election administration” is composed of employees in the Professional Service of the
State Election Commission, members of election management bodies, secretaries of
municipal commissions, their deputies and other individuals temporarily engaged in the
electoral process within supporting bodies of the State Election Commission;
21. “Election process” is the time from adoption of the act for calling the elections until the
announcement of the final results of the held elections at the level of a municipality, the
City of Skopje, i.e. the electoral district where elections are held;
22. “Forms of election media presentation“ shall refer to: daily information shows,
programmes that provide the participants in the election campaign with a direct access
to voters, and special information shows;
23. “Daily information shows“ shall refer to all editions of radio and television news and
magazines;
24. “Direct access to voters” shall refer to the free political presentation and paid political
advertising through which the participants in the electoral campaign shall freely promote
their programmes, viewpoints and candidates;
25. “Free political presentation “shall refer to the direct access of the participants in the
election campaign to the voters, through which the election programmes, viewpoints and
candidates shall be presented freely and without financial compensation.
26. “Paid political advertising” shall refer to the direct access of the participants in the
election campaign to the voters, through which the election programmes, viewpoints and
candidates shall be presented at a fee. The forms of paid political advertising shall
include advertisements, announcements, political election videos, music videos that
serve as anthems of the participants in the election campaign, live broadcasting or
recordings of rallies, meetings and other appearances of the participants in the election
campaign;
27. “Special information programmes” shall refer to: programmes intended to inform citizens
of the voting manner and technique and the fulfilment of voter right and informative
political programmes in the form of interviews, debates or TV/radio confrontations,
current information programmes, current information programmes with a documentary
approach and thematic specialized information programmes, and
28. “Election media presentation“ shall refer to (direct or indirect) promotion of viewpoints,
programmes, platforms, achievements, activities etc. of political parties, coalitions,
groups of voters and their representatives.

2. Equal right to vote

Article 3
(1) The President of the Republic, the Members of Parliament, the Members of Councils
and the Mayor, shall be elected at general, direct, and free elections, by secret ballot.
CDL-REF(2016)020 4

(2) No one shall be allowed to call the voter to responsibility because of his/her voting,
or ask him/her to declare for whom he/she cast her/his vote or why he/she abstained
from voting.

3. Electoral system
Article 4
(1) The election of the President of the Republic shall be conducted on the territory of
the Republic of Macedonia and in the diplomatic-consular offices (hereinafter:
DCOs) of Republic of Macedonia in Europe and Africa, North and South America
and Australia and Asia, as one electoral district, according to the majoritarian model.
(2) In the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia, 120-123 Members of Parliament
(hereinafter: MPs) shall be elected, of which 120 according to the proportional
model, whereby the territory of Republic of Macedonia shall be divided into six
electoral districts, as determined in this Code, and each electoral district shall elect
20 MPs, and 3 MPs shall be elected according to the proportional model in one
electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and South America, Australia
and Asia.
(3) The first MP in the electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and South
America, Australia and Asia shall be elected if the parliamentary candidate list has
won at least the number of votes required for election of a MP with the least number
of votes in the electoral districts in Republic of Macedonia, at the last parliamentary
elections in Republic of Macedonia.
(4) The second MP in the electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and
South America, Australia and Asia shall be elected if the parliamentary candidate list
has won twice the number of votes required for election of MP with least number of
votes in the electoral districts in Republic of Macedonia, at the last parliamentary
elections in Republic of Macedonia.
(5) The third MP in the electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and South
America, Australia and Asia shall be elected if the parliamentary candidate list has
won thrice the number of votes required for election of MP with the least number of
votes in the electoral districts in Republic of Macedonia, at the last parliamentary
elections in Republic of Macedonia.
(6) If in the electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and South America,
Australia and Asia, none of the parliamentary candidate lists has won the required
number of votes, as determined in paragraph (3) of this Article, there shall be no MP
elected.
(7) In the electoral districts in Republic of Macedonia the maximum allowed departure
of the number of voters shall be from -5% to +5%, as compared to the average
number of voters in the electoral district.
(8) The election of the Members of Councils shall be conducted on the territory of the
municipality, or the City of Skopje, according to the proportional model.
(9) The election of Mayor shall be conducted on the territory of the municipality, or the
City of Skopje, according to the majoritarian model.

4. Voters List
Article 5
(1) The Voters List shall be considered a public document and shall be administered for
the entire territory of the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) The elections and the referendum on national and local level in the Republic of
Macedonia shall be conducted based on the Voters List.
 5 CDL-REF(2016)020

5. The right to vote and to stand for election

Article 6
(1) Every citizen of the Republic of Macedonia who is at least 18 years of age, is able-
bodied and has domicile in the constituency, municipality, i.e. in the City of Skopje,
where the election takes place, shall have the right to vote.
(2) The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who on Election Day are temporarily
employed or residing abroad and are registered in the Voters List based on the
records of the competent organ and the application for voting, shall vote for the
election of the President of the Republic and for the election of Members of
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia in the Diplomatic-Consular Offices abroad
i.e. consular offices, in accordance with this Code.

Article 7
(1) Any person who meets the conditions for election of President of the Republic, as set
forth in the Constitution, may stands as candidate for President of the Republic.
(2) Candidate for Member of Parliament, Member of Council and Mayor may be citizen
of the Republic of Macedonia provided if he/she is:
 18 years old; and
 with active legal capacity.
(3) Candidate for Member of Parliament, Member of Council and Mayor cannot be a
person who:
 has been sentenced with a final court decision for unconditional imprisonment
above six months, and serving of the sentence has not commenced yet; and
 is serving an imprisonment for a committed criminal offence.
(4) In addition to the conditions stipulated in paragraph (2) of this article, candidate for
Member of Council and Mayor may be every citizen who has domicile in the
municipality and the City of Skopje, where the election takes place.

6. Incompatibility of the office of President of the Republic, Member of Parliament,

Mayor and Member of Council

Article 8
(1) The office of a Member of Parliament, Member of Council and Mayor shall be
incompatible with the office of the President of the Republic, President of the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Minister, Judge, Public Prosecutor,
Public Attorney, Ombudsman, and with other holders of offices elected or appointed
by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: the Parliament) and the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: the Government)
(2) The office of a Member of Parliament shall be incompatible with the office of Mayor
and Member of Council in a municipality and in the City of Skopje.
(3) The office of a Member of Parliament and Mayor shall be incompatible with the:
 performance of professional and administrative work in the state administration
bodies;
 performance of business or other profitable activity; and
 membership in management boards of public enterprises, public institutions,
funds, agencies, bureaus and other legal entities, as well as with the
appointment of a trustee of state- and publicly-owned capital in commercial
enterprise.
CDL-REF(2016)020 6

(4) The office of Mayor of the City of Skopje and the office of Member of the Council of
the City of Skopje shall be incompatible with the office of Mayor of Municipality and
the office of Member of Council of the municipalities in the City of Skopje.
(5) On the day of verification of their mandate as Member of Parliament, Member of
Council and Mayor, the holding of the offices under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
article shall terminate.
(6) On the day of verification of the mandate as Member of the Parliament and Mayor,
the employment of the persons, referred to in paragraph (3) line 1 of this article shall
cease temporarily.
(7) On the day of verification of the mandate as Member of Parliament, the business or
other profitable activity of the persons referred to in paragraph (3) line 2 and 3 of this
article shall be temporarily suspended, whilst their membership in management
boards of public enterprises, public institutions, funds, agencies, bureaus and other
legal entities, as well as the appointment as a trustee of state- and publicly-owned
capital in commercial enterprise shall cease.
(8) On the day of the verification of the mandate as a Member of Council, the
employment of the persons working in the municipal administration shall cease
temporarily in accordance with the Law.

Article 8-a
(1) From the day of the adoption of the decision for announcement of the elections until
the completion of the election of a President of the Republic of Macedonia,
Members of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and election of the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, pursuant to the election results, as well
as from the day of the adoption of the decision for announcement of the elections
until the day of the completion of the election of Mayor or Members of the Council,
i.e. until the establishment of the Council of the Municipalities and the City of Skopje,
the following shall not be allowed:
 managing resources from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia, resources
from the budgets of the municipalities and the City of Skopje, public funds and
resources from public enterprises and public institutions or legal entities that
have state capital at their disposal;
 use of Budget funds or public funds or funds of public enterprises or other legal
entities that have state capital at their disposal for the commencement of
construction of new infrastructural facilities, such as roads, waterworks,
transmission lines, sewage, sports playgrounds and other facilities, or social
activities’ facilities - schools, kindergartens and other buildings, unless Budget
funds have previously been allocated for that purpose, i.e. unless it is part of the
implementation of the program adopted based on a law in the current year; and
 payment of salaries, pensions, social welfare or other payments and financial
compensations from budget funds or public funds that are not regular monthly
payments i.e. all annual transfers and payments or single transfers from budget
funds or public funds, as well as selling of public capital or signing collective
agreements.
 “to initiate a procedure for employment of new persons or a procedure for
termination of employment in the state and public institutions, whereas the
initiated procedures shall be suspended, except for urgent and immediate
matters.
(2) Within a period of 20 days prior to the commencement of the election campaign
until the completion of the election of a President of the Republic of Macedonia,
Members of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and the election of the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, pursuant to the election results and until
 7 CDL-REF(2016)020

the completion of the elections for electing a Mayor or Members of the Councils, i.e.
the establishment of the Council of the Municipalities and the City of Skopje, the
following shall be forbidden:
 payment of subsidies that are not regular monthly payments;
 holding public events on the occasion of the commencement of construction or
use of facilities with resources from the Budget or from public funds, or with
resources from public enterprises or other legal entities that have state capital at
their disposal that are infrastructural facilities, such as roads, waterworks,
transmission lines, sewage, sports playgrounds and other facilities, or social
activities’ facilities - schools, kindergartens and other buildings. Prohibition for
holding public events shall particularly not refer to: giving a public statement of a
public official or a candidate for a public official during a rally, an interview in the
media, a debate in the media or an answer to a journalist’s question.
(3) From the day of the adoption of the decision for announcement of the elections until
the completion of the election of a President of the Republic of Macedonia,
Members of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and election of the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, pursuant to the election results, as well
as from the day of the adoption of the decision for announcement of the elections
until the day of the completion of the election of Mayors or Members of the Council,
i.e. until the establishment of the Council of the Municipalities and the City of Skopje,
the Ministry of Finance shall make public all budget payments, except the regular
salaries, pensions and utilities, by publishing them on the website in a special data
basis for budget costs in the election period.
(4) Two weeks following the announcement of the elections, the Government of the
Republic of Macedonia shall submit a pre-elections financial reports that shall
contain an overview of all planned and realized incomes and expenditures from the
Budget presented per item, in the period from the beginning of the fiscal year until
the day of the publishing of the report on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 8-b
(1) For the needs of the election campaign, the use of office premises, office
equipment and official vehicles of the state organ shall be forbidden, except for the
persons to whom the special provisions for protection of the individual refer to.
(2) Pressure and intimidation and attempted pressure and intimidation of voters or
members of their families or their close persons is forbidden.

Article 8-c
(1) As of the day of adoption of the decision for calling elections, the competing political
parties shall sign a Code on Fair and Democratic Elections.
(2) With paragraph (1) of the Code the electoral contestants shall unambiguously
commit that they will not exert any pressure or attempt pressure over the employees
in the public and state administration, in other institutions or establishments financed
by the Budget of Republic of Macedonia, the budgets of the municipalities and City
of Skopje, as well as in the trade companies and enterprises with state capital.
(3) With paragraph (1) of the Code the electoral contestants shall also unambiguously
commit that no employee or citizen shall be subject to any threat whatsoever as
regards their employment and social security as a result of their support or lack
thereof for any political party or candidate.

Article 9
(1) The employment of the members of the armed forces of the Republic of Macedonia,
the uniformed police officers, and the authorized officials in the Ministry of the
CDL-REF(2016)020 8

Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, and the Intelligence Agency shall cease
temporarily on the day they are confirmed as candidates.
(2) On the day of the verification of their mandate, the employment of the persons from
paragraph (1) of this article shall cease temporarily.

7. Professionalism and irrevocability of the office

Article 10
(1) The Members of Parliament cannot be recalled.
(2) The office of Member of Parliament and Mayor shall be executed in a professional
manner.

8. Tax, customs and fee exemption

Article 11
(1) Any actions, acts, submissions and other documents related to the administration of
the elections, procurement of goods, works and services for the needs of the election
process shall be exempted from payment of customs duty and tax.
(2) All the actions and acts of the state bodies, all submissions and evidence related to
the registration of the citizens in the Voters List shall be exempt from fees and taxes.
(3) The Minister of Finance shall regulate the proceedings regarding the payment of
Value Added Tax on the transactions concerning ballots and election materials
needed for the administration of the elections, as well as the related custom
proceedings.

II. CALLING AND ADMINISTERING THE ELECTIONS

1. Calling elections

Article 12
(1) The Act on Calling Election shall be passed by the President of the Parliament and it
shall determine the day from which the deadlines for performing election activities
are counted and Election Day.
(2) The Act on Calling Election shall be submitted to the State Election Commission, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and to the Ministry of Justice.
(3) The Act on Calling Election shall be published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic
of Macedonia”.
(4) From the day of calling elections, until the day of holding elections, a period of no
more than 90 days or less than 70 days may pass.

2. Information on administering the elections

Article 13
(1) The citizens shall be informed about the elections through a public call and by
displaying posters on visible places.
(2) The information from paragraph (1) of this article shall be provided by the competent
election commission.
 9 CDL-REF(2016)020

3. Administering the elections

3.1 Election of the President of the Republic

Article 14
(1) Elections for President of the Republic shall be held in the last 60 days of the
mandate of the outgoing President.
(2) In case of cessation of the mandate of the President due to any reason the election
of the new President shall be conducted within 40 days from the day of the cessation
of the mandate.

3.2 Election of Members of Parliament

Article 15
(1) Elections for Members of Parliament shall be held each fourth year, in the last 90
days of the mandate of the outgoing Parliament, or within 60 days from the day the
Parliament is dissolved.
(2) Early elections for Members of Parliament shall be administered in accordance with
the provisions of this Code whereas all the deadlines for the election activities shall
be five days shorter, except for the deadline determined for the duration of the
election campaign.
(3) The deadlines for administering the electoral activities from paragraph (2) of this
article shall be determined by the State Election Commission with a calendar.
(4) The mandate of the Members of Parliament shall last from the day of its verification
and until the day of verification of the mandate of the newly elected Members of
Parliament, but no longer than four years.

3.3 Election of Member of Council and Mayor

Article 16
(1) The elections of Members of Council and Mayor shall be held each fourth year
simultaneously in all municipalities, in the first half of the month of May.
(2) Early elections for Members of Council and Mayor shall be called and administered
in accordance with the provisions of this Code upon the fulfilment of the conditions
for termination of the mandate determined by the Law on Local Self-Government.
(3) The early elections for Members of Council and Mayor shall not be administered if
less than six months are left until the regular elections.

III. BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING ELECTIONS

1. Types of election management bodies

Article 17
(1) The bodies responsible for administering the elections are:
 The State Election Commission,
 Municipal Election Commissions and Election Commission of the City of
Skopje,
 Election Boards, and
 The Election Boards for voting in the diplomatic – consular offices of the
Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter “DCO“), i.e. consular offices.
CDL-REF(2016)020 10

2. Member of an election management body

Article 18
(1) A person may not be nominated for a member of an election body if:
 he/she does not meet the special conditions stipulated in this Law,
 he/she was convicted of a criminal offence related to elections; and,
 he/she had previously participated in organizing the elections and due to
identified irregularities in his/her work as member of an election body the voting
was annulled.
(2) The following persons may not be members of Municipal Election Commission,
Election Commission of the City of Skopje and Election Board:
 elected or appointed officials of the Government, Parliament and persons
employed in the state administration of the Ombudsman Office, Ministry of
Justice, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Secretariat for
Legislation, State Statistical Office, Bureau for Protection and Rescue, Crisis
Management Centre, the Professional Service of the Administrative Court, the
Professional Service of the State Election Commission, the Professional
Service of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and the staff
from the Professional Service of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media
Services.
(3) A person selected as a member of an election management body may decide to
refuse that duty only in case of health or family reasons, whereas the organ that
selects the person decides whether to grant he exemption from duty based on the
submitted, appropriate documentation.
(4) The performance of the work and working tasks of the employees in the bodies of
the state authority shall be organised in shifts on the Election Day, for the purpose of
enjoyment of their voting right.

Article 19
(1) The president and the members of the election management bodies shall execute
the duties of their office independently, in good faith and responsibly in accordance
with their competences determined in this Code.
(2) The president and the members of the election management bodies and the election
administration shall have the right to reimbursement, which will be determined with
an act of the State Election Commission.

3. Incompatibility of the office of member of election management body

Article 20
If a president, member of election management body, secretary or a deputy accepts a
nomination for President of the Republic, Member of Parliament, Member of Council or Mayor
his/her function as president, member, secretary or deputy shall cease.

4. Principle of adequate and equitable and gender representation in the election

management bodies
Article 21
(1) When selecting the members of the State Election Commission the principle of
adequate and equitable representation shall be applied.
(2) When selecting the members of Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election
Commission of the City of Skopje and the Election Boards in the municipalities in
which at least 20% of the citizens are members of other ethnic communities the
 11 CDL-REF(2016)020

principle of adequate and equitable representation of all ethnic communities shall be

respected.
(3) Each gender shall be represented in the election management bodies with at least
30%.
(4) For the implementation of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) from this article, the State
Election Commission shall determine the composition of the members of the
municipal election commissions i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje
and the election boards by means of an act.
(5) The decisions on appointing the members of Municipal Election Commissions i.e.
Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall be published in the “Official Gazette
of the Republic of Macedonia”.

5. Nominating the representative of the list submitter

Article 22
(1) Each submitter of a list of candidates for election of President of the Republic,
Members of Parliament, Members of Council, and Mayor, shall have the right to
appoint a representative and deputy to the representative, who will follow the work of
the election management bodies from the beginning of the elections up until the
determining and publishing of the results.
(2) Each submitter of the candidate list for election of President of the Republic or the
Members of the Parliament for voting in electoral districts in Europe and Africa, North
and South America and Australia and Asia shall appoint official representative and
his deputy in the Republic of Macedonia who will follow the work of the electoral
management bodies from commencement of the elections until determining and
announcing of final results.
(3) Official representative and his deputy before the electoral management bodies from
paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article cannot be a person accepted as a candidate.
(4) The list submitter shall issue an authorization to the representative and shall inform
the election bodies of this authorisation two days before the day of election, at latest.
(5) The representative of the list submitter may point to irregularities in the work during
sessions of the election management bodies and, if this is not accepted, the
representative may ask for it to be entered in the protocol.
(6) The official representative of the submitter of the list is required to wear a badge with
a number of the polling station he is authorised to observe.
(7) Authorized representative of the list submitter has the right to request and perform
complete inspection in the entire documentation of the electoral body during a
session of the election management body.

6. The manner of functioning of election management bodies

Article 23
(1) The election management bodies may work and take decisions if the majority of the
members are present, whereby the decisions are adopted with a majority of the
votes of the total number of members, unless otherwise specified with this Code.
(2) In case a member of Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the
City of Skopje or member of Election Board is absent, their deputies shall take part in
the work on the sessions.
(3) While administering the elections, in the municipalities where at least 20% of the
citizens speak an official language different from the Macedonian language, the
Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje and
the Election Boards shall use, in addition to the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic
CDL-REF(2016)020 12

alphabet, also the official language and alphabet spoken by at least 20% of the
citizens in that municipality.

Article 24
The work of the election management bodies shall be public, authorised representatives of the
list submitters and accredited observers shall have the right to be present during the work of the
election management bodies.

7. Support of the functioning of the election management bodies

Article 25
(1) The Parliament, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State
Statistical Office, the General Services Department of the Government of the
Republic of Macedonia and their regional offices as well as the municipalities and the
City of Skopje shall be obliged to provide the bodies in charge of administering the
elections with the technical, spatial and other conditions for their functioning.
(2) For implementing the activities from paragraph (1) of this article, the bodies shall be
provided with resources from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia.

8. State Election Commission

8.1 Composition and Financing of the State Election Commission

Article 26
(1) The State Election Commission shall consist of a president, vice-president and seven
members. The president and the vice-president shall be members of the State
Election Commission.
(2) The members of the State Election Commission shall fulfill the responsibilities of their
office professionally and shall have the right to re-election.
(3) The Parliament of Republic of Macedonia shall elect new composition of the State
Election Commission with a 5-year term of office, at the latest, 30 days prior to expiry
of the term of the permanent composition.
(4) The State Election Commission shall have a secretary-general.The State Election
Commission shall have the capacity of a legal entity.
(5) The State Election Commission, shall, within (30) days of the election of the new
composition, adopt an action plan and shall submit it to the Parliament of Republic of
Macedonia, for information purposes, and to the Government of Republic of
Macedonia, for implementation purposes.
(6) The State Election Commission shall have a special budgetary account within the
unique treasury account and shall independently manage its finances.
(7) The Budget of the State Election Commission shall be provided by the Budget of
Republic of Macedonia.
(8) In principle, the sessions of the State Election Commission shall be convened and
chaired by the president of the State Election Commission.
(9) In case of absence or unavailability of the president of the State Election
Commission, the session of the State Election Commission shall be convened and
chaired by the vice-president of the State Election Commission.
(10) The State Election Commission shall hold a session upon suggestion of a member of
the State Election Commission, if the suggestion is endorsed by the majority of the
total number of members of the State Election Commission.
 13 CDL-REF(2016)020

8.2. Selection of the composition of the State Election Commission

Article 27
(1) Upon proposal of the political parties, a person who meets the following criteria may be
elected member of the State Election Commission:
- is a citizen of Republic of Macedonia and has a permanent residence in the
Republic of Macedonia;
- is a law school graduate with at least 8 years of work experience in legal affairs;
- is not a member of an organ of a political party.
(2) A person who is not proposed by the political parties may be elected member of the
State Election Commission if he/she meets the following criteria:
- is a citizen of Republic of Macedonia and has a permanent residence in the Republic of
Macedonia;
- has completed higher education, with at least five years of work experience;
- is not a member of a political party in the preceding two years;
- has not been and is not a public office holder, or a nominee for one, in the central and
local government;
- is not a public supporter of the policies of the authorities or of the opposition;
- has a professional knowledge and practice in elections and electoral processes.
(3) The Parliament shall publish a vacancy announcement for the election of the president
and the members of the State Election Commission in an "Official Gazette of Republic
of Macedonia" and in the daily press. The vacancy shall remain open for 8 days from
the day of its publication in an "Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia.
(4) The Parliamentary Committee on Election and Appointment Affairs shall prepare a
draft-list of the applicants and shall submit it to the Parliament.
(5) From the candidates on the draft list for members of the State Election Commission,
the opposition political parties shall nominate three members, namely the opposition
political party with largest number of MPs in Parliament proposes two members, and
the opposition political party with second largest number of MPs in Parliament
proposes one member of the State Election Commission. The ruling political parties
propose three members of the State Election Commission, namely the ruling political
party with the largest number of MPs in Parliament proposes two members and the
ruling political party with second largest number of MPs in Parliament proposes one
member of the State Election Commission. The three members of the State Election
Commission of paragraph (2) of this article shall be elected upon a joint proposal of the
ruling political parties and the opposition parties from among the applicants.
(6) The members of the State Election Commission shall be elected by the Parliament,
with 2/3 majority of votes from the total number of MPs.
(7) The Parliament of Republic of Macedonia shall elect the president and the vice-
president from among the members elected in line with paragraph (2) of this Article.
(8) The president or the vice-president of the State Election Commission shall be from
among the members of the largest non-majority community.
(9) As of the day of their election, the previous employment of the members of the State
Election Commission shall be temporarily suspended.“

8.3. Cessation of a mandate in the State Election Commission before the expiry of the mandate

Article 28
(1) The term in office of the members of the State Election Commission shall cease before
expiry of the mandate:
- if any of the conditions stipulated in Article 27 p.(1) and p.(2) of this Code cease to
exist,
- upon their personal request,
CDL-REF(2016)020 14

- due to unprofessional and unsound discharge of the responsibilities of their office,

- due to meeting the conditions for age pension, as determined by Law,
- due to death, and
- if sentenced, with a final court decision, to at least six months of imprisonment.
(2) With a two third majority from the total number of members, the State Election
Commission may submit a proposal to the Parliamentary Committee on Election and
Appointment Affairs for dismissing a member due to unprofessional and unsound
execution of the responsibilities of their office.

8.4. Deadline for Nomination of Members of the State Election Commission

Article 29
(1) The President of Parliament shall, within three days of receipt of the notification, inform
the ruling and the opposition political parties to submit proposals for members of the
State Election Commission, in line with Article 27, paragraphs (4) and (5) of this Code.
(2) Should the political parties fail to determine and submit the names of the candidates for
members of the State Election Commission, within the deadline stipulated in paragraph
(1) of this Article, the members of the State Election Commission shall be proposed by
the Parliamentary Committee on Election and Appointment Affairs.

9. Professional service of the State Election Commission

Article 30
(1) The State Election Commission shall appoint a secretary-general for a 5-year term of
office.
(2) A secretary-general may be elected a person who:
- is a citizen of Republic of Macedonia and has permanent residence in Republic of
Macedonia;
- has completed higher education in the field of management, public administration and
other social sciences;
- is not a member of a political party;
- has professional knowledge and practice in the field of management in the public
sector.
- is from among the civil servants of category B, or from the managerial staff employed in
line with the Law on Civil Servants.
(3) The secretary-general shall not have membership of the State Election Commission and
shall have no right to vote.
(4) The secretary-general shall professionally discharge his/her responsibilities.
(5) A Support Service shall be established to the State Election Commission, to discharge
the professional/administrative and organizational/technical responsibilities of the State
Election Commission.
(6) The Support Service shall be headed by the secretary-general of the State Election
Commission.
(7) The secretary-general and the Support Service staff of the State Election Commission
shall have the status of civil servants.
 15 CDL-REF(2016)020

10. Competencies of the State Election Commission

Article 31
(1) The State Election Commission shall safeguard the legality of the preparation and
the administration of the elections in accordance with this Code and shall supervise
the work of the election management bodies.
(2) The State Election Commission shall:
1. request data from the competent bodies regarding the employees in the state
administration, municipal administration and the administration of the City of
Skopje as well as regarding the employees in the public administration and
shall appoint the members of the Municipal Election Commissions and the
Election Commission of the City of Skopje;
2. give instructions, explanations and recommendations on the implementation of
the provisions of this Code and the implementation of other laws referring to
elections related issues;
3. dismiss any member of an election management body in case of unlawful
activities;
4. control the legality of the work of the election bodies and undertake measures
in cases of determined legal violations in the preparations, the procedure for
candidacy, the administration of the elections and the determining of the
election results, as well as in case of violation of the instructions and
recommendations issued by the State Election Commission;
5. confirm and publish the lists of candidates for election of President and election
of Members of Parliament and determine their sequence on the ballot by
drawing lots;
5-a determines the sequence of the single list of candidates for members of the
council, i.e. candidates for mayor by drawing lots.
6. adopt a programme and establish standards for obligatory education of all
election bodies and coordinate the same;
7. administer obligatory education of the members of the Municipal Election
Commissions i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje before every
elections and shall issue certificates in manner and in timeframe prescribed by
the programme;
8. prescribe the template for the education attendance certificate for the members
of the election management bodies;
9. establish common standards regarding the election material, take care of its
procurement and prescribe the means of marking and checking the persons
who have voted (UV lamp, spray 1and graphite pad);
10. prescribe templates for conducting elections and templates for collecting
signatures of voters and Members of Parliament for nominating candidates and
publish them in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”;
11. determine the manner of handling and securing the election material;
12. determine the quality, form, size, colour and serial numbers of the ballots;
13. organize the printing of ballots and candidates’ lists and procurement of the
voter identification system;
14. deliver, receive and keep the election materials from the Municipal Election
Commissions, i.e. and Election Commission of the City of Skopje;
14-a keep the election materials from the elections of the President of the
Republic, members of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and
referendum on a national level.

1
OSCE comment: UV lamps and sprays shall not be used. Most probably is a technical mistake by the MoJ.
Corrigendum is needed.
CDL-REF(2016)020 16

15. inform and educate the public about the manner of voting and the exercise of
the right to vote;
16. adopt a Code on the rules for observing the elections by domestic and foreign
observers, in accordance with international standards, and provide them with
identification documents;
17. control the polling stations where irregularities are reported on Election Day;
18. confirm with a decision the adopted lists of candidates or reject the same in
cases when they are not composed in accordance with the provisions of this
Code;
19. adopt a Rulebook to determine the criteria for the manner and procedure of
election and dismissal of president, his/her deputy president, members and
their deputies in election management bodies;
20. tabulate and determine the results from the voting for the lists of candidates on
the level of electoral district;
21. publish the preliminary results of the elections of President of the Republic,
Members of Parliament, Members of Council and Mayor based on the data in
the protocols of the election bodies;
22. publish the final results of the administered elections;
23. issue certificates to the candidate elected as President of the Republic and to
the candidates elected as Members of Parliament;
24. adopt a Rulebook and Instruction for the reimbursement of members of the
election management bodies and the election administration, based on the
number of voters, type, complexity and the scope of activities and the time
needed for their completion;
25. submit a report to the Parliament on the administered elections within 45 days
of the date of the announcement of the final results of the elections at the level
of the municipality, the City of Skopje i.e. the electoral district where the
elections take place and a financial overview and shall publish it on its web
page;
26. dispense the compensation of the expenses of the elected candidates
according to the submitted financial report and publishes it on its web page;
27. adopt the act for organization and systematization of the Professional Service
of the State Election Commission within which a Legal Service shall be
organized and systematized and shall establish the supporting bodies;
28. publish the descriptions of the polling stations in the daily press;
28-а. establishes electronic system for case and complaints management;
28-b. is solely responsible for maintenance of the Voter List;
28-c. provides electronic access to the Voter List, in line with the provisions for
protection of personal data of citizens;
28-d. The State Election Commission shall publish the Voter List on its webpage,
with the following data: name, surname and address of voters. Every citizen
has the right to submit a request to the State Election Commission to prevent
publication of his/her address in the Voter List due to security reasons.
28-e. Once a month, the State Election Commission shall update the Voter List,
based on citizen notifications of change of data. Every 6 months, the State
Election Commission shall publicly encourage the citizens to check their data,
and if necessary, request change of their data.
28-f. Every member of the State Election Commission, for the purposes of
detecting inconsistencies or verifying the credibility of the Voter List data, has
the right to request that the State Election Commission authorizes the Legal
Department to check the Ministry of Internal Affairs archives of biometric
documents, as well as other state organs and institutions’ data bases and
 17 CDL-REF(2016)020

archives of citizens, in a procedure established by law, or a bylaw, and within

5 working days to receive a written notification on the conducted checks.
28-g. The State Election Commission shall adopt a Rulebook on the Methodology
for maintenance and updating of the Voter List based on checks and statistical
analyses, cross-checks of various data bases and records, unlimited field
checks and other appropriate acknowledged methods of checks. The State
Election Commission shall adopt the Rulebook of item 28-е upon previous
agreement of the four largest political parties in the Parliament of Republic of
Macedonia.
28-h. The State Election Commission shall adopt a Rulebook for Methodology on
Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of Data on the Voter List, as well as a
procedure for conducting field checks for the purposes of updating the Voter
List. The State Election Commission shall adopt the Rulebook of item 28-h
upon previous agreement of the four largest political parties in the Parliament
of Republic of Macedonia.”
29. keep a records and safeguards the protection of the personal data of the
citizens contained the Voters List;
30. check the integrity of the database on the Voters List;
31. sign the Voters List, i.e. the excerpts of the Voters List used for voting, no later
than 15 days prior to Election Day;
32. establish contacts with the international associations and organizations
authorized to observe the elections i.e. the referendum on the national level, on
issues regarding the Voters List;
33. provide the media with data regarding the number of voters registered in the
signed Voters List i.e. the excerpts;
34. adopt Rules and Procedure for its own work and the decision-making of the
members of the State Election Commission;
34-а) The State Election Commission shall hold sessions if these are attended by
the majority of the total number of members;
34-b) The State Election Commission shall adopt decisions with majority of votes
of the total number of members of the Commission. During decision-making
the members of the State Election Commission shall vote “for” or “against“.
The vote of “abstinence” shall not be allowed and in such case, the vote shall
be considered “against”;
34-c) A decision of the State Election Commission shall be considered adopted
upon voting of the majority of the total number of members of the Commission,
except in the case specified in item 34–d and item 34-f of this Article;
34-d) In case when the draft-decision refers to interests of a non-majority
community, prior to putting the draft-decision for vote, any member of the
State Election Commission who belongs to the non-majority community has a
right to request that the State Election Commission decide upon such draft-
decision with consensus;
34–e) In the case prescribed in item 34-d of this Article, the draft-decision shall be
submitted for a repeat review at the Legal Department, which will be asked to
give an expert opinion and a recommendation;
34-f) The member of the State Election Commission of item 34-d of this Article and
the member or the members of the State Election Commission with opposing
opinions shall consult the Legal Department within one working day as of
submission of the request of item 34-d of this Article. These members of the
State Election Commission, within 2 working days, shall propose a
supplemented and elaborated decision. In order for the decision to be
considered adopted, the submitted draft-decision must be voted in with a
consensus by the State Election Commission;
CDL-REF(2016)020 18

34–g) If within 2 working days a consensus is not reached with regard to the draft-
decision, and the decision is not adopted with a consensus by the State
Election Commission, the decision shall not be considered adopted and as
such can be appealed before the Administrative Court;
34–h) Against the decision of the Administrative Court, only in case of item 34–d),
34-f) and 34–е), a right to an appeal is allowed before the Higher
Administrative Court. The Higher Administrative Court shall decide upon the
appeal within the deadlines prescribed with this Code for the decision-making
of the Administrative Court;
34–i) The manner and the decision-making procedure of item 34-f) of this Article
shall not be subject to the deadlines set in Articles 147 to 149 of this Code;
35. decide upon complaints based on inspection of the election materials and other
evidence;
36. adopt Rulebook on the behaviour of the police during the elections in co-
operation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
37. adopt an instruction for taking decisions on complaints and appeals;
38. monitor the commencement and the completion of the election campaign and
undertakes measures determined by this Code;
39. prescribe the template for voter application for voting in the DCO, i.e. consular
offices;
40. elects and forms the Election Boards for voting at the DCO, i.e. the consular
offices and the Election Board for the voting of the members of the Election
Boards at the DCO, i.e. the consular offices;
40-a adopt Guidelines on the manner of voting of the members of the Election
Boards in the DCO, i.e. consular offices;
41. deliver and receive the election material to and from the Election Boards for
voting at the DCO, i.e. consular offices, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
42. tabulate and determine the voting results for the candidate list for the election
of three Members of Parliament from the electoral district which covers Europe,
Africa, North and South America, Australia and Asia;
43. complete and submit statistical data for the needs of the State Statistical Office
of the Republic of Macedonia;
43-a publicly announce the price lists of broadcasting and printed media on its web
site;
43-b keeps minutes of its sessions and publishes the approved minutes on its
website within 48 hours from the date of their adoption.
44. Perform other duties prescribed by this Code.
(3) The sessions of the State Election Commission shall be public.
(4) The State Election Commission shall initiate a disciplinary procedure, submit request
for initiation of misdemeanor procedure or submit criminal charges to the respective
organ, in case there are grounds of suspicion of a violation of the provisions of this
Code.
(5) The templates and the entire election material for the municipality where at least
20% of the citizens speak an official language different from Macedonian, shall be
printed in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet and also in the official
language and alphabet spoken by at least 20% of the citizens in that municipality.
(6) The templates and the entire election material for the electoral districts 7, 8 and 9
from this Code, in which at least 20% of voters registered in the Voters List speak
official language different from Macedonian shall be printed in Macedonian language
and its Cyrillic alphabet and in the official language and the alphabet used by at least
20% of the voters registered in the Voters List for that electoral district.
 19 CDL-REF(2016)020

(7) The authorised representatives of the list submitters, whose objections are being
considered, have the right to be present during the work and the decision making of
the State Election Commission.

Article 32
(1) Within three days from the day of calling elections, the State Election Commission
shall submit a request to the state administrative body responsible for record keeping
of the state and public servants and the competent bodies to submit data on the
employees in the state and municipal administration, the administration of the City of
Skopje as well as the public administration, systematised by municipality according
to their address and place of residence.
(2) The bodies from paragraph (1) of this article shall submit the data to the State
Election Commission within five days from the day of having received the request.

11. Municipal Election Commissions

11.1 Selection and composition of Municipal Election Commission

Article 33
(1) Municipal Election Commissions shall be formed:
a) In municipalities that have their seat in a town:
1. Municipality of Berovo
2. Municipality of Bitola
3. Municipality of Bogdanci
4. Municipality of Valandovo
5. Municipality of Veles
6. Municipality of Vinica
7. Municipality of Gevgelija
8. Municipality of Gostivar
9. Municipality of Debar
10. Municipality of Delchevo
11. Municipality of Demir Kapija
12. Municipality of Demir Hisar
13. Municipality of Kavadarci
14. Municipality of Kichevo
15. Municipality of Kochani
16. Municipality of Kratovo
17. Municipality of Kriva Palanka
18. Municipality of Krushevo
19. Municipality of Kumanovo
20. Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica
21. Municipality of Makedonski Brod
22. Municipality of Negotino
23. Municipality of Ohrid
24. Municipality of Pehchevo
25. Municipality of Prilep
26. Municipality of Probishtip
27. Municipality of Radovish
28. Municipality of Resen
29. Municipality of Sveti Nikole
30. Municipality of Struga
31. Municipality of Strumica
CDL-REF(2016)020 20

32. Municipality of Tetovo

33. Municipality of Shtip
b) In municipalities that have their seat in a village:
34. Municipality of Arachinovo
35. Municipality of Bosilovo
36. Municipality of Brvenica
37. Municipality of Vasilevo
38. Municipality of Vevchani
39. Municipality of Vrapchiste
40. Municipality of Gradsko
41. Municipality of Debarca
42. Municipality of Dojran
43. Municipality of Dolneni
44. Municipality of Zhelino
45. Municipality of Zelenikovo
46. Municipality of Zrnovci
47. Municipality of Ilinden
48. Municipality of Jegunovce
49. Municipality of Bogovinje
50. Municipality of Karbinci
51. Municipality of Konche
52. Municipality of Krivogashtani
53. Municipality of Lipkovo
54. Municipality of Lozovo
55. Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostusha
56. Municipality of Mogila
57. Municipality of Novaci
58. Municipality of Novo Selo
59. Municipality of Petrovec
60. Municipality of Plasnica
61. Municipality of Rankovce
62. Municipality of Rosoman
63. Municipality of Sopishte
64. Municipality of Staro Nagorichane
65. Municipality of Studenichani
66. Municipality of Tearce
67. Municipality of Centar Zhupa
68. Municipality of Chashka
69. Municipality of Cheshinovo - Obleshevo
70. Municipality of Chucher - Sandevo
c) Municipalities in the city of Skopje:
71. Municipality of Aerodrom
72. Municipality of Butel
73. Municipality of Gazi Baba
74. Municipality of Gjorche Petrov
75. Municipality of Karposh
76. Municipality of Kisela Voda
77. Municipality of Saraj
78. Municipality of Centar
79. Municipality of Chair
80. Municipality of Shuto Orizari
 21 CDL-REF(2016)020

81. City of Skopje (this election commission shall be formed only for the
purpose of administering the elections for Mayor and Members of Council
of the City of Skopje)
(2) The Municipal Election Commissions shall have their seat in the municipalities
determined in paragraph (1) of this article and shall be responsible for administering
election activities in the electoral districts and at the polling stations determined with
this Code.

Article 34
(1) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall be composed of a president and four members.
(2) The president and members of paragraph (1) of this article have deputies.
(3) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall have a secretary and his/her deputy appointed by the president of the Municipal
Election Commission, from among graduated jurists, for a period of 5 years.
(4) The presidents of the Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election Commission of
the City of Skopje and their deputies, four members and their deputies shall be
selected from among the employees having higher education in the state
administration, municipal administration and the administration of the City of Skopje.
They shall be randomly selected and serve a five year term.
(5) The secretary and his/her deputy shall perform professional, administrative and
organizational-technical duties of the Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election
Commission of the City of Skopje.

Article 35
(1) The State Election Commission within 5 days from the day of receiving the data from
article 32 of this Code shall form the Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election
Commission of the City of Skopje. The decisions for forming the Municipal Election
Commissions i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall be published in the
“Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia”.
(2) The manner and the procedure for appointing the president, his/her deputy, the
members and their deputies of the Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election
Commission of the City of Skopje shall be determined with an act of the State
Election Commission.
(3) The manner and the procedure for determining the responsibility in case of unlawful
activities of the president, his/her deputy, the members and deputies of the members
of the Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall be determined with the Law on Civil Servants.

Article 36
The president and members of the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission
of the City of Skopje and their deputies, as a rule, shall have their domicile in the municipality for
which the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje has
been formed.
CDL-REF(2016)020 22

11.2 Competencies of the Municipal Election Commission and the Election Commission of
the City of Skopje

Article 37
(1) The Municipal Election Commission and the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall safeguard the legality in the preparation and administration of the
elections in accordance with this Code and shall supervise the work of the Election
Boards.
(2) The Municipal Election Commission and the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall:
1. appoint the composition of the Election Boards with a decision and shall submit
the same, with deposited signatures of the members, to the State Election
Commission;
2. dismiss the members of the Election Board in case they work unlawfully before
the Election Day and on the Election Day;
3. give instructions for the work of the Election Boards;
4. announce the verified lists of candidates;
5. organize and administer the education of Election Board members, according
to the plan and program of the State Election Commission before every
elections and issue certificates for the completed training;
6. undertake technical preparations for administering the elections according to
guidelines and instructions of the State Election Commission;
7. control the legality of the work of the Election Boards and intervene in cases
when violation of the legality has been determined in the preparations,
candidacy and administration of the elections and determination of the election
results, as well as in case of violation of the instructions and recommendations
provided by this Commission;
8. prepare a report and submit it to the State Election Commission;
9. inform the citizens about the location where voting takes place;
10. register the authorised representatives for monitoring the work of the Municipal
Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje and of the
Election Boards and issue badges with the numbers of the polling stations to
authorized representatives who will follow the work of the Election Boards.
11. hand over and collect the election materials to and from the Election Boards in
a manner determined with this Code;
12. tabulate the results from the voting for the list of candidates in the elections for
President of the Republic, compile and submit the protocol, together with the
entire election material, to the State Election Commission immediately, and at
the latest 12 hours after the voting has finished;
13. fill in and submit statistical data for the needs of the State Statistical Office;
14. after administering the elections for Members of Parliament, based on the
protocols of the Election Boards, the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the
Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall tabulate the results according
to the electoral districts for the polling stations for which it is competent and in
accordance with their belonging to the electoral district;
15. tabulates the results of voting for the list of candidates from the polling stations
for which it is responsible, prepares records and submits them to the State
Election Commission within five hours from the receipt of the entire election
material from the Election Boards;
16. decide upon complaints in accordance with this Code; and
17. provide evidence while deciding on the legal remedies.
 23 CDL-REF(2016)020

(3) During Local Elections, the Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall perform
the competences determined in paragraph (2) of this article, except for the
competences stipulated in lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, and 14.
(4) During Local Elections, in addition to the competencies stipulated in paragraphs (1)
and (2) of this article, the Municipal Election Commission and the Election
Commission of the City of Skopje shall:
1. determine whether the nominated lists of candidates for election of Members of
Council and the candidate lists for Mayor have been submitted in accordance
with this Code.
2. confirm the lists of nominated candidates;
3. keeps the entire election material from the local elections.
4. determine the results from the voting in the municipality and the City of Skopje
and immediately after the results have become final shall issue, to the elected
candidates for Members of Council, i.e. to the elected Mayor, certificate for
election; and
5. perform other duties, prescribed by this Code.

12. Election Board

12.1 Selection and composition of the Election Board

Article 38
(1) Election Board shall be established for each polling station.
(2) Election Boards shall be composed of president and four members.
(3) The president and members have deputies.
(4) The president of the Election Board and its deputy shall be selected from the
employees with higher education working in the state, public, municipal
administration or the administration of the City of Skopje, two members and their
deputies shall be randomly selected from among the employees in the state, public,
municipal and the administration of the City of Skopje with a minimum of secondary
education for a period of 4 years.
(5) One member of the Election Board and his/her deputy shall be selected on a
nomination of those political parties in opposition, which during the last elections for
Members of Parliament won the greatest number of votes.
(6) One member of the Election Board and his/her deputy shall be selected on a
nomination of the ruling political parties, which during the last elections for Members
of Parliament won the greatest number of votes.
(7) The political parties of paragraphs (5) and (6) of this article shall submit their
proposals for members in the Election Board to the Municipal Election Commission
within five days from the day of receiving the notification from the Municipal Election
Commission.
(8) The political parties from paragraphs (5) and (6) of this article, shall submit for all
elections new nominations for members of the Election Boards and their deputies.
(9) If the political parties do not submit their nominations within the deadline prescribed
in paragraph (7) of this article, the members will be nominated by the Municipal
Election Commission in accordance with paragraph (4) of this article.
CDL-REF(2016)020 24

Article 38-a
(1) The voting at the diplomatic-consular offices or the consular offices shall be conducted
by the electoral board, composed of a president and four members.
(2) The selection of members of the electoral boards in the diplomatic-consular offices, or
the consular offices, shall be made by the State Election Commission.
(3) The president and the members shall have deputies.
(4) The president and the deputy-president shall be elected from among the diplomats
employed at the respective DCO, or the consular offices, randomly, for a 4-year term
of office.
(5) If in the respective DCO, or consular offices, the number of employees who can stand
for election of president and deputy-president is not sufficient, the deputy-president
shall be elected upon proposal of the ruling and the opposition political parties, by
drawing of lots.
(6) The members and their deputies shall be elected upon proposal of the ruling and the
opposition political parties from the citizens of Republic of Macedonia with permanent
residence in the country of voting or a citizen of Republic of Macedonia with
permanent residence in Republic of Macedonia. The members and their deputies at
the electoral board shall be elected from among the citizens of the Republic of
Macedonia with permanent residence in the Republic of Macedonia, if the ruling or the
opposition political party, within the deadlines determined with this Code, is not able to
propose members and their deputies from among the citizens of Republic of
Macedonia with permanent residence in the country of voting, for a 4-year term of
office.
(7) Two members of the electoral board and their deputies shall be appointed upon
proposal of the ruling and the opposition political parties who had won the most votes
at the last parliamentary elections.
(8) Two members of the electoral board and their deputies shall be appointed upon
proposal of the opposition political parties who had won the most votes at the last
parliamentary elections.

Article 38-b
For the voting of the members of the Election Boards for voting at the DCO, i.e. the consular
offices, the composition of the Election board for voting at the State Election Commission shall
be identical to the composition of the Election Boards for voting in the Republic of Macedonia
which shall be established pursuant to article 38 of this Law.

Article 39
(1) For the purpose of forming the Election Boards, the State Election Commission,
within three days from the day of forming the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the
Election Commission of the City of Skopje, shall submit the data from article 32 of
this Code to the Municipal Election Commission.
(2) Within five days from the day of receiving the data from paragraph (1) of this article
the Municipal Election Commission, i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall form the Election Boards for the polling stations that are under its competence.
(3) The manner and the procedure for appointing the president, his/her deputy, the
members and their deputies in the Election Boards shall be determined with an act of
the State Election Commission.
(4) The manner and the procedure for determining the responsibility for unlawful
activities of the president, his/her deputy, the members and their deputies in the
Election Boards shall be determined in the Law on Civil Servants and the Law on
Labour Relations.
 25 CDL-REF(2016)020

12.2 Competencies of the Election Boards

Article 40
(1) The Election Board shall safeguard the legality in the administration of the elections.
(2) The Election Board shall:
1. directly administer the voting procedure at the polling station;
2. provide regularity and secrecy in casting the ballot;
3. provide free and peaceful voting process;
4. determine and tabulate the election result at the polling station;
5. announce the election results at the polling station; and
6. prepare a report and keep a log on its work and submit them to the Municipal
Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje.
(3) The Election Board shall prepare protocol about its work and the tabulation of the
results on a single template prescribed and certified by the State Election
Commission and together with the election material submits it to the Municipal
Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje.
(4) In case of error in filling in the protocol, the Election Board shall proceed according to
the instructions of the State Election Commission.
(5) The Election Board shall perform its duties in accordance with this Code and the
instructions of the State Election Commission.
(6) The Election Boards for voting in DCO shall execute their duties in accordance with
the competencies stipulated in this article.

IV. REGISTRATION OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE

1. Maintaining the Voters List

Article 41
(1) The Voter List shall be maintained by the State Election Commission, which is solely
responsible for its update.
(2) The Voter List shall be maintained according to the Registry of Citizens in the form
of a Registry of Voters, with automatic data processing on a magnetic medium. The
State Election Commission shall have access to the database of the state organs
which have at disposal registries of citizens on various grounds.
(3) The personal data of the citizens in the Voters List shall be written in the languages
and alphabets in which the original records are kept, in accordance with Law.
(4) All citizens who are 18 years old have residence on the territory of the Republic of
Macedonia and who have a valid personal ID card or passport shall be registered in
the Voters List.
(5) All citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, who are temporarily employed or residing
abroad, with a residence on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia and with a
valid passport, shall also be registered in the Voters List. These persons shall be
registered according to their last place of residence in the Republic of Macedonia,
prior to their departure abroad.
(6) Citizens who have been deprived of their working capacity with a final court decision
shall not be registered in the Voters List.
(7) In the Voters List, the citizens shall be registered according to the municipality where
they reside.
(8) Excerpts of the Voters List shall be prepared for each electoral district, municipality
and polling station.
CDL-REF(2016)020 26

(9) In cases when different election processes are being administered simultaneously,
each polling station shall receive as many signed excerpts of the voters list as the
number of election i.e. election rounds.
(10) The contents of the Voters List i.e. the excerpts (first round) as issued on Election
Day cannot be changed until the end of the elections.
(11) The resources for updating and compiling the Voter List shall be provided by the
Budget of the State Election Commission, in line with Article 26 paragraph (7), (8)
and (9).

Article 42
(1) It is the official duty of the State Election Commission to record, add and delete data
in the Voter List, based on data from birth registries, registries of residence and
citizenship of the Republic of Macedonia, other official records, and through direct
inspection.
(2) The State Election Commission shall record, add or delete data in the Voters List at
the request of citizens, based on the adopted Rulebook on Methodology for Full
Access, Interventions and Deletion of Data in the Voter List.
(3) The State Election Commission shall delete from the Voters List a deceased person
or a person who has lost, on any account, his/her voting right, upon a request of a
political party by submitting data on the deceased person or other person who has
lost, on any account, his/her voting right, based on previous inspection of the data
in the registry books, place of residence and citizenship of the Republic of
Macedonia, other official records and by immediate inspection, in line with the
adopted Rulebook on Methodology for Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of
Data in the Voter List.
(4) Registration of citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed
or residing abroad can also be done based on an application submitted to the
diplomatic-consular offices.”

2. Competencies of the bodies for submitting data to be recorded in the Voters List

Article 43
(1) The Ministry of Internal Affairs shall submit data, to the State Election Commission,
for citizens who:
 are at least 18 years of age on the Election Day and have a valid personal ID
card or passport;
 are at least 18 years of age and have died;
 are at least 18 years of age and have moved to or out of a given municipality,
or have changed their address within the municipality;
 are at least 18 years of age and have changed their first or last name;
 are at least 18 years of age and have acquired or lost citizenship of the
Republic of Macedonia;
 are at least 18 years of age and are temporarily employed or residing abroad.

(2) The Basic Courts shall submit data to the State Election Commission on persons
who have been deprived of their working capacity with a final court decision and
data for persons to whom a home custody measure has been pronounced.
(3) The data, referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article, shall be delivered four
times a year, from 1 to 10 February, from 1 May to 10 May, from 1 September to 10
September and from 1 December to 10 December. In cases when elections or a
referendum are called, the data shall be delivered the day following the day of
 27 CDL-REF(2016)020

calling of the elections or referendum and shall as a rule contain the personal
identification number of the citizen (PIN/EMBG).
(4) In line with paragraph (3) of this Article, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, shall also
submit to the State Election Commission a quarterly report on the newly issued
biometric personal IDs and passports, the grounds for issuance of the IDs and the
passports, systematized by name and surname and by municipalities.

Article 44
(1) No later than 30 days prior to Election Day or referendum at the national level, the
body in charge of administering sanctions shall submit data to the State Election
Commission on persons who are in custody or serving prison sentence, based on
the records kept by this body.
(2) The data from paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article shall be submitted on an
electronic medium and shall as a rule contain the personal identification number of
the citizen (PIN/EMBG).

3. Content of the Voters List and the printed excerpts

Article 45
(1) The Voter List shall contain the following data: the personal identification number of
the citizen (EMBG), surname, name of one of the parents and personal name, sex,
personal photo (in the same format as required for ID card or a passport), residential
address (municipality, settlement, street, house number, entrance and apartment),
date of entering and deleting, and date and type of the data added.
(2) The printed excerpts of the Voter List and the special excerpts shall be kept in
alphabetical order, according to the last name of the citizen, and shall contain the
following columns: ordinal number, surname and name, sex, date of birth, personal
photo (in the same format as required for ID card or a passport), and residential
address (settlement, street, house number, entrance and apartment number),
signature or fingerprint of the voter.
(3) The citizens who during the elections are temporarily employed or residing abroad
and have submitted an application for voting to a DCO, i.e. consular offices shall not
be included in the excerpt of the Voters List used for voting in the Republic of
Macedonia.
(4) The citizens who are temporarily employed or residing abroad during the elections,
and who have not submitted an application for out-of-country voting to a DCO, i.e.
consular offices shall be registered in a special excerpts from the Voter List for voting
in the Republic of Macedonia.

4. Printing of the special excerpts of the Voters List

Article 46
Special excerpts of the Voters List shall be prepared for administering the elections in DCO, i.e.
consular offices and penitentiary institutions and at the State Election Commission for
 Voting of the citizens who during the elections are temporarily employed or
residing abroad, based on a voting application.
 The persons who during the elections are in custody or are serving a prison
sentence.
 For the voting of the members of the Election Boards for voting at the DCO, i.e.
the consular offices.

Article 47
CDL-REF(2016)020 28

The special excerpts from the Voters List, referred to in article 46 of this Code, shall be
prepared in two copies, as follows:
 for the citizens who during the election are temporarily employed or residing
abroad the first excerpt is systematized according to the polling station and the
electoral district and the in the remark column the state in which the citizen has
a temporary employment or residence abroad and the location of the DCO, i.e.
consular offices is stipulated, and the second excerpt is systematized
according to the country in which the citizens are temporarily employed or
residing abroad, the location of the DCO, i.e. consular offices and in the remark
column it is stipulated the number of the polling station and the electoral
district,
 for citizens who are in custody or are serving prison sentence during the
elections, one copy is systematized according to polling station or municipality,
the remark column contains the municipality in which the penitentiary institution
is located; the second copy is systematized according to the penitentiary
institution and the municipality in which it is located: the remark column
contains the number of the polling station, and the municipality to which that
polling station belongs, and
 for the members of the Election Boards for voting at the DCO i.e. the consular
offices one copy shall be systematized according to the polling station,
municipality and electoral district and the word SEC shall be entered in the
remarks section, whereas the second copy shall be systematized according to
the SEC, and the polling station, municipality and electoral district shall be
entered in the remark column.

5. Inspection of the data in the Voters List

Article 48
(1) A citizen may, throughout the year, request to inspect the excerpt of the Voters List
in the regional offices of the State Election Commission, DCO, i.e. consular offices
and through Internet.
(2) If during the inspection, the citizen determines that either he/she or another citizen
has not been registered in the Voters List, or it is found that data should be entered,
added or deleted, he/she shall have the right to submit a request to the regional
office of the State Election Commission to enter, add or delete data. Adequate
documentation shall be submitted along with the request.
(3) If the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or
residing abroad during the inspection in the DCO, i.e. consular offices establish that
they or some other citizen are not enlisted in the Voters List or there is a need to
enter, add or delete data, the request for entering, adding and deleting data shall be
submitted, together with supporting documentation, by e-mail through the DCO, i.e.
consular offices to the State Election Commission or directly to the State Election
Commission.
(4) The State Election Commission shall check the accuracy of the data and the
documents enclosed by the citizen, no later than three days from the day of receiving
the request and if it is determined that the request is well founded, they shall enter,
add or delete data in the Voters List or, if the request is not well founded, it shall
reject the same with a decision based on the authentic documentation and in line
with the “Rulebook on Methodology for Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of
Data in the Voter List.
 29 CDL-REF(2016)020

(5) Within three days following the day of receipt of the decision, the citizen may submit
an appeal against the decision of the State Election Commission to initiate an
administrative dispute before the Administrative Court in the Republic of Macedonia.
(6) The Administrative Court shall decide upon the appeal, referred to in paragraph (5)
of this article, within 3 days following the day of receipt of the appeal.
(7) The final decision reached on the appeal by the Administrative Court, shall be
considered as the basis to enter, change and delete data in the Voters List;
(8) The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing
abroad can submit a lawsuit against the decision of the State Election Commission
by e-mail through the DCO, i.e. consular offices to the Administrative Court or
directly to the Administrative Court.

6. Public inspection of the Voters List

Article 49
(1) The State Election Commission shall, no later than 15 days after the calling of the
elections, display the Voters List on public inspection in its regional units and local
offices, which shall include the following data:
 citizens who are 18 years of age or older on Election Day (first round of voting);
 deceased persons, 30 days before the day of calling of the elections, and
 other information from the Voters List, on the day of calling of the
elections.
(2) The State Election Commission through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivers to the
DCO, i.e. consular offices the special excerpts from the Voters List for the persons
who are temporarily employed or residing abroad based on the records from the
competent organ in order to have them available for public inspection.
(3) Immediately upon displaying the excerpts from the Voters List on public inspection,
the State Election Commission shall inform the citizens through the media of the
place and the duration of the inspection, the manner of the inspection and the
possibility for entering, adding or deleting data in the Voters List.
(4) The public inspection shall last 20 days.
(5) The political parties during the public inspection period can perform inspection to the
data in the Voters List until the closing and signing the Voters List.

Article 49-а
(1) Within five days from the day of the ending of the public inspection, the State
Election Commission shall submit the Voters List to the political parties.
(2) Within five days from the day of the receipt of the Voters List, the political parties
shall submit a request to the State Election Commission for entering, adding or
deleting data.
(3) The State Election Commission shall decide upon the submitted request within three
days from the day of the receipt of the request, in line with the Rulebook on
Methodology for Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of Data in the Voter List”
shall be added.
(4) Against the decision from paragraph (3) of this article, a lawsuit can be submitted to
the Administrative Court within 24 hours from the receipt of the decision.
(5) The Administrative Court shall pass a decision within 24 hours from the day of the
receipt of the lawsuit.

7. Change of data in the Voters List that is open for public inspection

Article 50
CDL-REF(2016)020 30

a. The State Election Commission shall, immediately, and no later than two
days after calling elections, submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notification
on publishing a public call for calling elections.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
shall publish the public call on its webpage within one day.
b. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, immediately and no later than three days
upon receiving the notification of paragraph 1 of this Article, is required to
submit it to the DCO for publication on their web page, not later than three days.
c. The notification of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be published in
Macedonian language and in the Cyrillic alphabet, in the languages and
alphabets of the communities listed in the preamble of the Constitution of the
Republic of Macedonia and in the official language of the corresponding
country, on the webpage of the DCO.
d. The notification of paragraph 1 of this Article contains data on the type of
elections to be held, call for public inspection of the Voters List as well as for
voting application, the start and the end-date of the period for submission of the
voting application, the necessary documents, as well as clarification on who
may vote and where will the voting take place.
e. The public call shall also be published on the webpage of the State Election
Commission within the deadline determined in paragraph 1 of this Article.
f. During the public inspection, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who
are temporarily employed or residing abroad shall email the request for
recording, supplementing or erasing data in the separate Voter List excerpt to
the State Election Commission.
g. The separate Voter List excerpts shall register citizens of the Republic of
Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing abroad, who have their
last residence registered in the Republic of Macedonia and who have submitted
voting application for the coming elections to the State Election Commission.
h. As of the day of calling elections until the end of the public inspection, the
citizens of the Republic of Macedonia from paragraph (7) of this Article may
submit a hand-signed or emailed voting application by which they register for
voting on the coming elections.
i. Eligible to vote on the presidential and parliamentary elections shall be the
citizens of Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing
abroad, who have submitted voting application and are registered in the
separate Voter List excerpts.
j. The DCO shall immediately, and no later than two days after the expiry of
the public inspection period, email the application of paragraph (8) of this Article
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall
immediately, and no later than 24 hours of its receipt, submit them to the State
Election Commission.
8. Registration and inspection into the Voters List for out-of-country voting

Article 50-a
(1) The State Election Commission, immediately and no later than two days after
announcement of elections, shall submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notification
on publishing a public call for announcement of elections.
(2) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, immediately and no later than three days upon
receiving the notification from paragraph (1) of this article shall be obliged to submit it
to the DCO, i.e. consular offices for its publication in the corresponding country.
(3) The notification from paragraph (1) of this article shall be published in Macedonian
language and Cyrillic alphabet, in languages and alphabets of the communities listed
in the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia and in the official
 31 CDL-REF(2016)020

language of the corresponding country in at least one of the three most widely
circulated national newspapers, and in at least one quarter of the newspaper page.
(4) The notification from paragraph (1) of this article contains the data on the type of
elections to be held, call for public inspection of the Voters List as well as for voting
application, the start and the end date of the period for submitting the voting
application, the necessary documents, as well as clarification on who may vote and
where the voting will take place.
(5) The public call within the deadline determined in paragraph (1) of this article shall
also be published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Election
Commission and DCO, i.e. consular offices.
(6) The request for entering, adding or deleting the data in the separate extracts from
the Voters Lists, during the public inspection, the citizens of the Republic of
Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing abroad may submit it by email
through DCO, i.e. consular offices to the State Election Commission or to the State
Election Commission.
(7) In the separate extracts from the Voters Lists shall be registered the citizens of the
Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing abroad, who have
their latest residence registered in the Republic of Macedonia and who have
submitted voting application for the coming elections to the DCO, i.e. consular offices
of the Republic of Macedonia in the corresponding country.
(8) From the day of announcement of the elections until the completion of the public
inspection, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia from paragraph (7) of this
article may submit a hand-signed or emailed voting application by which they register
for the voting on the coming elections.
(9) For the elections for President and members of Parliament may vote the citizens of
the Republic of Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing abroad, who
have submitted voting application and are registered in the separate extracts of the
Voters List.
(10) The request from paragraph (6) and the voting application from paragraph (8) of this
article, the DCO, i.e. consular offices shall immediately and no later than two days
after the completion of the public inspection, submit through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall immediately and no later than 24
hours from the day of their receipt shall submit them to the State Election
Commission.

Article 51
(1) The State Election Commission shall adopt a decision upon the requests and the
applications of the citizens of Article 50 and Article 50-а of this Code within 24 hours
of its receipt and if determined that the request is valid, in line with the Rulebook on
Methodology for Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of Data in the Voter List, it
shall enter, add, or erase data in the Voter List and shall email the decision to the
citizen. If not, it shall adopt a decision by which it shall reject the request and shall
email such decision to the citizen.
(2) The citizen may appeal the decision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article before
the Administrative Court, within 24 hours of its receipt.
(3) The Administrative Court shall decide upon the appeal referred to in paragraph 2 of
this Article within 24 hours of its receipt, and shall immediately email the decision to
the complainant.
(4) The State Election Commission shall decide upon the requests and applications of
the citizens, referred to in article 50 and article 50-a of this Code, within 24 hours
from the day of receiving the request and if it determines that the request is well
founded, it will enter, add or delete data, if not, it will reject the request with a
decision.
CDL-REF(2016)020 32

(5) The citizen may file a lawsuit against the decision referred to in paragraph (1) of this
article to the Administrative Court within 24 hours from receiving the decision.
(6) The Administrative Court shall decide upon the lawsuit referred to in paragraph (2) of
this article within 24 hours from receiving the complaint.
(7) The final decision of the Administrative Court on the appeal to enter, add and delete
data shall become an integral part of the Voters List confirmed by the State Election
Commission.

9. Closing and signing of the Voters List

Article 52
The State Election Commission shall close the Voters List, with all the changes resulting from
the inspection, printed as excerpts, no later than 15 days after the ending of the public
inspection.

Article 53
(1) The Voters List i.e. the excerpts shall be closed by noting the following: number of
pages of the Voters List i.e. excerpt, number of voters on the Voters List (marked
with number and letters), the critical moment for the data determined in article 49,
paragraph (1) of this Code, closing date, signature of the authorized person and
stamp.
(2) The closed Voters List shall contain the data of citizens whose requests for deleting,
entering or change of data in the Voters List have been positively resolved by the
State Election Commission and the Administrative Court.

Article 54
(Deleted)

10. Protection of data in the Voters List

Article 55
(1) The personal data contained in the Voters List shall be protected in accordance with
the Law, and shall not be used for any purpose other than exercising the citizens’
right to vote, in accordance with this Code.
(2) The State Election Commission shall issue, in hard copy or electronic form on
CDROM, to the registered political parties and to the independent candidates, when
taking part in the elections, upon their written request, data from the signed or
previously prepared excerpt of the Voters List for each polling station and the
excerpts from the Voters List for the voting in the DCO, i.e. consular offices,
containing the data referred to in article 45, paragraph (2) of this Code, within ten
days.
(3) The expenses for the preparation of the data of the Voters List in hard copy or
electronic form shall be covered by the submitters of the request.
(4) The registered political parties, coalitions and the independent candidates, i.e. the
authorized representatives of the list submitters and their deputies, may not use the
Voters Lists for recording the persons who voted on Election Day.

Article 56
An authorized employee or any other person, body or organ, acquainted with the personal data
contained in the Voters List, shall be obliged to secure and protect them, in accordance with
article 55 of this Code.
 33 CDL-REF(2016)020

V. NOMINATING CANDIDATES

1. Nominating candidates
Article 57

(1) The nomination of candidates for the election of President of the Republic,
Members of Parliament, and candidates for Members of Council and for Mayor,
shall be done by submitting a list of candidate for President of the Republic, a list of
candidates for Members of Parliament, and a list of candidates for Members of
Council i.e. list of candidate for Mayor.
(2) A candidate for President of the Republic, Member of Parliament, candidates for
Members of Council and for Mayor may be nominated only on one list of
candidates.

2. List Submitter

Article 58
(1) The list submitter may submit only one list of candidate for President of the
Republic, candidates for Members of Parliament, candidates for Members of
Council as well as only one list of candidate for Mayor.
(2) During the administration of the local election, the list submitter from paragraph (1)
of this article, in the units of local self-government where at least 20% of the
citizens speak an official language other than Macedonian, shall submit the
candidates lists, i.e. the candidate list for Mayor, in addition to the Macedonian
language and its Cyrillic Alphabet, and also in the official language and alphabet
used by citizens in that unit of local self-government.
(3) During the administration of the elections for Members of Parliament, the lists
submitter from paragraph (1) of this article, in the electoral districts where at least
20% of the citizens speak an official language other than Macedonian, may submit
the lists of candidates, in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic Alphabet, and
also in the official language and alphabet used by citizens in that unit of local self-
government.

2.1 Submitter of a list of candidate for President of the Republic

Article 59
(1) A list of candidate for President of the Republic may be submitted by at least 10,000
voters or at least 30 Members of Parliament.
(2) In cases when a list submitter of candidate for President of the Republic is a group of
voters, it is required to collect at least 10,000 signatures of the voters registered in
the Voters List.
(3) In cases when the list submitter of candidate for President of the Republic is a group
of Members of Parliament, it is required to collect at least 30 signatures of Member of
Parliament.
CDL-REF(2016)020 34

2.2 Submitter of a list of candidate/s for Members of Parliament, Members of Council and
Mayor

Article 60
(1) Registered political parties individually, coalitions, as well as a group of voters
(hereinafter: "list submitter") have the right to submit a list of candidates for Members
of Parliament, Members of Council, i.e. list of candidate for Mayor.
(2) The State Election Commission shall determine the legal subjectivity of the submitter
of a list of candidates for election of Members of Parliament based on the agreement
of the political parties that are participating in the elections as a coalition.
(3) The Municipal Election Commission and the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall determine the legal subjectivity of the submitter of the candidate list for
election of Members of the Council and Mayors, based on the agreement of the
political parties that act as coalition for the elections of the Members of the Council
and Mayors.
(4) The coalition agreement from paragraph (2) and (3) of this article shall be concluded
by the representatives of the political parties that are participating in the elections
together and it shall contain the name of the coalition, the symbol, the municipality/-
ties i.e. the electoral district/s in which they are participating together.
(5) The candidates’ list shall be signed personally by an authorised representative of the
list submitter.
(6) The name of the list shall be marked according to the name of the list submitter.
(7) If the submitter of a list of candidates is a group of voters, the name of the list shall
be marked with "group of voters" and the name and surname of the candidate.

2.3 Submitter of a list of candidates for Members of Parliament with collected signatures

Article 61
(1) In cases when submitter of a list of candidates for Members of Parliament, is a group
of voters, at least 1,000 signatures of the voters registered in the excerpts of the
Voters List of the electoral district, shall be collected.
(2) When a list submitter is a group of voters from the electoral districts abroad, it is
necessary to collect at least 1,000 signatures from the registered voters in the
excerpt of the Voting List for these elections districts, before the official persons in
the DCO, i.e. consular offices on a template prescribed by the State Elections
Commission.

2.4 Submitter of a list of candidate/s for Members of Council and Mayor with collected
signatures

Article 62
In cases when submitter of a list of candidates for Members of Council, i.e., candidate list for a
Mayor, is a group of voters, it shall be required to collect:
 in a municipality that has no more than 10,000 inhabitants, at least 100
signatures of the registered voters in the excerpt of the Voters List of the
municipality;
 in a municipality that has between 10,001 and 30,000 inhabitants, at least 150
signatures of the registered voters in the excerpt of the Voters List of the
municipality;
 in a municipality that has between 30,001 and 50,000 inhabitants, at least 250
signatures of the registered voters in the excerpt of the Voters List of the
municipality;
 35 CDL-REF(2016)020

 in a municipality that has between 50,001 and 100,000 inhabitants, at least 350
signatures of the registered voters in the excerpt of the Voters List of the
municipality;
 in a municipality with more than 100,001 inhabitants at least 450 signatures of
the registered voters in the excerpt of the Voters List of the municipality; and
 in the City of Skopje at least 1,000 signatures of the registered voters in the
excerpt of the Voters List for the area of the City of Skopje.

3. Procedure of the collection of signatures for nominating candidates

Article 63
(1) The signatures of the voters in the nomination procedure shall be collected before
officials from the State Election Commission on a template that shall contain the
name and surname, the domicile and personal identification number of the
candidates nominated, as well as the name and surname, and the personal
identification number of the voter signing the nomination.
(2) Collecting signatures before the State Elections Commission shall commence at the
15th day from the day of calling the elections and shall last for 15 days.
(3) Each voter may give his/her signature for more than one candidate list for President
of the Republic, candidates for Members of Parliament, Member of Council, and
candidate for Mayor.
(4) Voters submitting the list are required to be eligible to vote and to have domicile
within the area of the electoral district, the municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje.

4. Contents of the submitted list

Article 64
(1) The submitted list of candidate for President of the Republic shall contain the
following: title of the list, name and symbol, if there is one, of the list submitter, name
and surname of the nominated candidate for President along with his/her domicile
and personal identification number of the citizen.
(2) The submitted list of candidates for Members of Parliament shall contain the
following: number of electoral district, title of the list, name and symbol, if there is
one, of the list submitter, name and symbol, if there is one, of the list head, name
and surname of each candidate for Member of Parliament along with his/her domicile
and personal identification number of the citizen and a statement declaring belonging
to an ethnic community.
(3) The submitted list of candidates for Members of Council, i.e. list of candidate for
Mayor shall contain the following: the municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje for which
the elections are being administered, title of the list, name and symbol, if there is
one, of the list submitter, name and surname of the list head, name and surname of
each candidate for Members of Council along with his/her domicile, personal
identification number of the citizen.
(4) The submitted list of candidate for Mayor shall contain the following: the municipality
i.e. the City of Skopje for which the candidate is nominated, title of the list, name and
symbol, if there is one, of the list submitter, name and surname of the proposed
candidate for Mayor along with his/her domicile and personal identification number of
the citizen.
(5) In the submitted list of candidates for Members of Parliament from paragraph 2 of
this Article and for Members of Council of the municipality and the City of Skopje
from paragraph 3 of this Article, at least 40% of the candidates shall belong to the
underrepresented sex, namely: in every third place at least one place shall belong to
the underrepresented sex and, additionally, at least one place in each ten places
CDL-REF(2016)020 36

(6) The coalition agreement, the confirmation from the Central Registry and the decision
of the competent court for registration of the political party, which are submitted
along with the submitted candidates list, shall be submitted as originals or notary
certified copies.
(7) As an exception to paragraph (6) of this article, the coalition agreement, the
confirmation from the Central Registry and the decision of the competent court for
registration of the political party, which are submitted along with the submitted
candidate list for election of Members of the Council, i.e. a Mayor, shall be submitted
as originals or copies. If copies are submitted, the original coalition agreement, the
confirmation from the Central Registry and the decision of the competent court for
registration of the political party shall be deposited in the State Election Commission.

5. Procedure for submitting a list

Article 65
(1) The list of candidate, i.e. candidates shall be submitted on a template prescribed by
the State Election Commission.
(2) When submitter of a list of candidate i.e. candidates is political party, its registration
certificate from the competent court must be attached.
(3) When a coalition is submitting a list of candidate, i.e. candidates, the statement from
article 60, paragraph (4) of this Code must be attached.
(4) When submitter of a list of candidate i.e. candidates is a group of voters, the required
number of signatures stipulated in article 61 i.e. article 62 of this Code must be
submitted as well.
(5) For each nomination, the candidate needs to make a written, irrevocable consent
(statement).
(6) The order of the candidates on the list shall be determined by the submitter of the list
in accordance with article 64 of this Code.

Article 66
(1) The authorised representatives of the list submitters shall submit the list of candidate
for President of the Republic to the State Election Commission.
(2) The authorised representatives of the list submitters shall submit the list of
candidates for Members of Parliament to the State Election Commission.
(3) The authorised representatives of the list submitters shall submit the list of
candidates for Members of Council, i.e. the list of candidate for Mayor to the
Municipal Election Commission and the Election Commission of the City of Skopje.
(4) The lists of candidates from paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall be submitted to the
competent election commission no later than 30 days prior to the Election Day.

Article 67
(1) The State i.e. Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of
Skopje from article 66 of this Code, shall, upon the receipt of the lists of candidate
i.e. candidates, examine whether they have been submitted within the prescribed
deadline and whether the lists have been compiled in accordance with the provisions
of this Code.
(2) Should the State i.e. Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the
City of Skopje determine that there are irregularities in the list, it shall call upon the
authorised representative of the submitter, i.e., the first signed candidate for Member
of Parliament, to eliminate the irregularities within 48 hours from the receipt of the
lists.
 37 CDL-REF(2016)020

(3) Should the State i.e. Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the
City of Skopje determine that the lists have been submitted within the prescribed
deadline and have been compiled in accordance with the provisions of this Code, i.e.
the irregularities and the omissions have been eliminated by the lists submitters
within the deadline set in paragraph (2) of this article, it shall confirm the submitted
lists with a decision.
(4) Should the State i.e. Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the
City of Skopje determine that the lists have not been submitted timely, i.e. the
irregularities and the omissions have not been eliminated by the list submitters within
the deadline set in paragraph (2) of this article, the submitted lists shall be rejected
with a decision within 24 hours from the receipt of the lists.
(5) Against the decision of the Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission
of the City of Skopje stipulated in paragraph (4) of this article, lawsuit may be
submitted to the Administrative Court, within 24 hours upon the receipt of the
decision.
(6) Against the decision of the State Election Commission from paragraph (4) of this
article, a lawsuit may be submitted to the Administrative Court through the State
Election Commission within 24 hours upon receipt of the decision.
(7) The Administrative Court is obliged to take a decision within 24 hours upon receipt of
the lawsuit.
(8) Submitting complaints and lawsuit by post shall not be permitted.
(9) Filing complaints and appeals on the out-of-country voting shall be done exclusively
by email, in person or via authorized representative. The complaint shall be
considered filed at the moment of sending the email to the State Election
Commission

6. Procedure in case of death of a candidate on the confirmed list of candidates for a

Member of the Council of the municipality and the City of Skopje

Article 67-а
(1) If some of the candidates from the confirmed candidate list passes away in the
period after the day of the candidate lists confirmation, the political party, i.e.
coalition, which has proposed the candidate can propose another candidate instead,
and if the candidate has been proposed by a group of voters, they can propose
another candidate instead, without collecting signatures in the candidacy procedure
stipulated by this Law, in the period up until 10 days before the Election Day.
(2) The deceased candidate shall be erased from the candidate list, and the candidate
added to the candidate list shall be introduced under the ordinal number of the
deceased proposed candidate or shall be introduced as last on the candidate list, in
which case the order of the remaining candidates listed below the deceased
candidate shall be moved one position higher on the list.
(3) If the candidate who has deceased is the head of the list, the list shall be amended
in the manner stipulated in paragraph (2) of this article, and head of the list shall
become the candidate from the candidate list nominated by the list submitter.
(4) The candidate list amended with a new candidate in accordance with paragraphs (2)
and (3) of this article shall be published in the manner stipulated with this Law
regarding the publishing of the single list no later than 24 hours from the day of the
amendments to the candidate list.
(5) Providing some of the confirmed candidates in the candidate lists passes away in
the period shorter than 10 days before the holding of the elections, the candidate list
remains effective.
CDL-REF(2016)020 38

7. Procedure in the case of death of a candidate in the confirmed candidate list for the
election of a Mayor

Article 67-b
(1) If some candidate from the confirmed candidate list for the election of a Mayor
passes away in the period after the day of the candidate lists confirmation, the
political party, i.e. coalition, which has nominated the candidate can nominate
another candidate instead, and if the candidate has been nominated by a group of
voters, they can nominate another candidate instead, without collecting signatures
in the procedure for nominations stipulated by this Law, in the period up until ten
days before the Election Day.
(2) The candidates list amended with a new candidate in accordance with paragraph (1)
of this article shall be published in the manner stipulated with this Law regarding the
publishing of the single list no later than 24 hours from the day of the change of the
candidate in the candidate list.
(3) Providing some of the confirmed candidates in the candidate lists passes away in
the period shorter than 10 days before the holding of the elections, the replacement
of the candidate in the candidate list shall be done in a procedure stipulated in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Law, and the competent election commission, in
collaboration with the SEC, shall determine a postponement of the date for the
holding of the elections for that municipality for 14 days.

8. Procedure in the case of death of a candidate on the confirmed candidate list for the
election of Members of Parliament

Article 67-c
(1) If some of the candidates from the confirmed candidate list for the election of
Members of Parliament passes away in the period after the day of the candidate
lists confirmation, the political party, i.e. coalition, which has nominated the
candidate can nominate another candidate instead, and if the candidate has been
nominated by a group of voters, they can nominate another candidate instead,
without collecting signatures in the procedure for nominations stipulated by this Law,
in the period up until ten days before the Election Day.
(2) The candidate list amended with a new candidate in accordance with paragraph (1)
of this article shall be published in the manner stipulated with this Law regarding the
publishing of the single list no later than 24 hours from the day of the change of the
candidate in the candidate list.
(3) Providing some of the confirmed candidates in the candidate lists passes away in
the period shorter than 10 days before the holding of the elections, the procedure
shall be that the deceased candidate who has been elected as a Member of
Parliament shall be replaced by the first candidate in line who has not been elected,
and has been nominated by the political party which has nominated the candidate
list, i.e. one of the following candidates who has not been elected, and who has
been nominated by the coalition leader. The candidate who has passed away and
has been elected from an independent list in the electoral district shall be replaced
by the first candidate in line who has not been elected from that list.
 39 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 68
(1) The order of the candidates in the list of candidates i.e. the order of the lists of
candidates shall be determined by the State Election Commission by drawing lots.
This number shall be the same in all electoral districts, i.e. municipality, and in the
electoral district i.e. the municipality where there is no own representative, the
respective number of the list submitter shall be left out and in his place shall be
written the ordinal number of the following head of the list without leaving an empty
space.
(2) The candidates’ lists for Members of the Council and for Mayor that have been
submitted by the same submitter shall receive the same ordinal number in all
municipalities (or just in the respective municipality).
(3) Candidates’ lists proposed by a coalition that is led by one and same political party,
regardless of the number of political parties in the coalition in different municipalities,
i.e. electoral districts, have the same ordinal number in all municipalities, i.e. in all
electoral districts.
(4) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje, after confirming the list of candidates for Members of the Council and the list
of candidates for Mayor, shall submit the lists to the State Election Commission for
determining the order of candidates in the single list of candidates, based on
paragraph (1) and (2) of this article.
(5) The State Election Commission shall previously notify the authorised representatives
of the list submitters about the activities it will undertake in line with the paragraphs
(1) and (2) of this article.

9. Publishing the lists

Article 69
(1) The State Election Commission shall publish the verified list of candidate for Election
of President of the Republic in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, at
the latest 25 days prior to Election Day.
(2) The State Election Commission shall publish the verified single lists of candidates for
Members of Parliament in the electoral districts in the daily newspapers, of which
one shall be in the language of the community spoken by at least 20% of the citizens
of the Republic of Macedonia, at the latest 23 days prior to Election Day.
(3) State Election Commission through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall deliver to the
DCO, i.e. consular offices verified single lists for their publication within 48 hours.
(4) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall announce the verified single lists of candidates for Members of Council i.e. lists
of candidate for Mayor, by displaying them in all inhabited places and in the polling
stations in the municipality, at the latest 23 days prior to Election Day.
(5) The Municipal Election Commissions i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall post the verified lists of candidates for Members of Parliament in the polling
stations in the municipalities for which they are competent.
(6) In the units of the municipalities where at least 20% of citizens speak an official
language other than the Macedonian, the verified lists of candidates shall be
published, in addition to the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet, also in
the official language and alphabet that are used by citizens in that municipality.
CDL-REF(2016)020 40

VI. ELECTION CAMPAIGN

1. Participants of election campaign

Article 69-a
(1) As an election campaign is considered: public gathering and other public events
organised by the campaign participant, public display of posters, video presentations
in public areas, electoral media and internet presentation, dissemination of printed
materials and public presentation of confirmed candidates by official election bodies
and their programmes.
(2) The election campaign commences 20 days prior the Election Day and in the first
and the second round of election cannot continue 24 hours before elections and on
the Election Day.
(3) In case of submission of a complaint about disrespecting the provisions from
paragraphs (1) and (2) from this article, the State Election Commission is obligated
to look into the allegations and address the submitted complaint in a period that is
not longer than 15 days from the date of the submission of the complaint.

Article 70
(1) Submitter of a list of candidates whose list of candidates for election of President of
the Republic, Members of Parliament, Members of Council, i.e. candidates for
Mayor, have been confirmed by the competent election commission, shall have the
right to organise election campaigns (hereinafter: "participants of election
campaign").
(2) The participants of election campaign shall have the right to use equally and under
the same conditions all forms of political promotions action, press releases, and
other forms of promotional actions, which aim to influence the voters’ decision during
voting.
(3) Foreign legal entities and persons may not organise election campaigns.

Article 71
(1) For the purpose of collecting funds for financing of an election campaign, the
political party, coalition, the submitter of a independent list of a group of voters, i.e.
persons having an intention to candidate, are obliged to register unique tax number
labeled “for election campaign” and to open a bank account labeled “for the election
campaign”, which may not be used for other purpose whatsoever.
(2) The entities referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, are obliged to register unique
tax number and to open a bank account from paragraph (1) of this article the latest
within 48 hours after verification of the list of candidates, and the earliest within 48
hours after calling the elections. During this 48 hours deadline, the proof for the
registered unique tax number and the opened bank account shall be submitted to
the competent election commission.
(3) The registering of unique tax number and the opening of the bank account from
paragraph (1) of this article for a coalition, political party, group of voters, i.e.
persons having an intention to candidate, shall be agreed upon by a coalition
agreement, i.e. statement of intention, notary certified, given by the political party,
group of voters, i.e. persons having an intention to candidate.
(4) Should the political party, the coalition, the submitter of independent list of group of
voters, i.e. persons having an intention to candidate, fail to register a unique tax
number and open a bank account within the time period specified in paragraph (2) of
this article, the list of candidates shall be rejected by a decision taken by the
competent Election Commission.
 41 CDL-REF(2016)020

(5) In case when the bank account is opened by the submitter of independent list of
group of voters, i.e. persons having an intention to candidate, the authorized
signatory of the bank account shall be the submitter of independent list or person
authorized by the list submitter.
(6) All funds transferred by legal entities or private persons for financing the election
campaign shall be deposited on the bank account from paragraph (1) of this article.
The donations for financing the election campaigns may be transferred only onto the
bank account from paragraph (1) of this article, and latest by the date determined for
submitting the financial report for financing the election campaign defined by article
85, paragraph (1) of this Code.
(7) In case of not submitting or not confirming the list of candidates, the entities from
paragraph (1) of this article who have registered unique tax number and have
opened a bank account are obliged to return the unspent funds to the donor
proportionally to the donated amount of funds and within a time period of 60 days.
(8) In case a coalition agreement has been made between entities from paragraph (1)
of this article, the entities from paragraph (1) of this article, who had previously
registered a unique tax number and had opened a bank account, shall be obliged to
annul the registered unique tax number from the respective registry and to close the
bank account after having transferred the funds, the rights and obligations of the
bank account under the coalition agreement and the registered unique tax number,
within the deadlines from paragraph (2) of this article.
(9) All funds aimed for financing of the election campaign shall be transferred onto the
bank account from paragraph (1) of this article and all expenses aimed for the
election campaign shall be made from such bank account.
(10) The bank account of paragraph (1) of this Article shall be closed within three months
of the day of announcement of the final election results.

Article 72
(1) The participant of election campaign shall be responsible for the legality of the
conduct of the election campaign.
(2) The participant of election campaign shall also be responsible for the election
campaign activities of other persons that are authorised by election campaign
participant.

Article 73
(1) If during the election campaign or during the public events or promotional activities
by participants of election campaigns, the rights of candidates are being violated (by
preventing and disturbing the opponents’ campaign), the candidates have the right
to immediately initiate a procedure before the competent Basic Court for the
protection of their rights.
(2) The Basic Court shall decide upon the request for protection of voting rights within 48
hours after the request has been submitted.
(3) Appeal against the decision of the Basic Court may be submitted before the
competent Court of Appeals within 48 hours from the receipt of the decision.
(4) The competent Court of Appeals shall decide within 48 hours of the day the appeal
was submitted.
(5) The final decision shall immediately be announced in the media.

Article 74
(1) In case of a complaint filed against violation of Article 8–а and Article 8–b of this
Code, the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption shall be required to
CDL-REF(2016)020 42

examine the allegations at a public session, and to act upon the filed complaint
within a deadline not longer than five days of the day of filing the complaint.
(2) The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption shall decide upon the complaints
of paragraph 1 of this Article at a public session, and shall publish its decisions on its
webpage, within 24 hours. The session may also be attended by the complainant.
(3) Against the decision of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption of
paragraph 2 of this Article, the complainant has the right to an appeal to the
Administrative Court within 24 hours of receipt of the decision.
(4) The Administrative Court shall be required to adopt a decision within 48 hours of
receipt of the appeal.

Article 74-а
(1) In case of a complaint filed against violation of campaign financing provisions of this
Code, the State Audit Office shall be required to examine the allegations and to
decide upon the filed complaint within five days of filing the complaint.
(2) For each filed complaint, in line with paragraph (1) of this Article, the State Audit
Office shall notify the State Election Commission and the State Commission for
Prevention of Corruption, within 24 hours.
(3) Against the decision of the State Audit Office of paragraph 1 of this Article, the
complainant has the right to an appeal to the Administrative Court within 24 hours of
the receipt of the complaint.
(4) The Administrative Court shall be required to adopt a decision within 48 hours of the
receipt of the appeal.

2. Media Presentation

Article 75
k. Broadcasters, i.e. the Public broadcasting service and trading broadcasting
companies and electronic media (internet portals) that decided to cover the
elections are obligated to do that in an fair, balanced and unbiased manner in
their overall program.
l. Broadcasters, regardless of the language in which they broadcast the
program are obligated during the election campaign to enable the participantss
of the election campaign to have equal conditions for access to all forms of
electoral media presentation – news, special informative programs (interviews,
debates, TV/radio duel, informative news programs, informative news programs
with documentary approach and thematic specialized informative programs), free
political presentation and paid political advertising.
m. Programs aimed for juvenile audience must not be used for electoral
presentation in the media.
n. The broadcasters, the printed media and the electronic media (internet
portals), as well as their related persons must not in any way finance or give
donations to the political parties. Related persons shall be considered the
persons defined in Article 36 of the Law on Audio and Audio Visual Media
Services.

Article 75-a
(1) The broadcasters shall ensure balanced coverage of the elections in all forms of
electoral presentation in the media in the following manner:
a) with regard to the elections for President of the Republic, in accordance with the
principle of equality for all presidential candidates both in the first and the second
round of elections;
 43 CDL-REF(2016)020

b) with regard to the elections for Members of the Parliament of Republic of

Macedonia, in accordance with the principle of proportionality based on the
number of confirmed candidate’ lists for Members of Parliament; and
c) with regard to the local elections:
- the election of Mayor of municipality, i.e. Mayor of the City of Skopje, in
accordance with the principle of equality for all candidates for Mayors both in
the first and second round of elections;
- the election of Members of the Municipal Councils, i.e. Members of the
Council of the City of Skopje, for broadcasters on national and regional level
in accordance with the principle of proportionality based on the number of
confirmed candidates’ lists for Members of the Municipal Councils, i.e.
Members of the Council of the City of Skopje, whereas for the broadcasters
on local level in accordance with the principle of equality.
(2) When establishing whether the media coverage of the elections was balanced, one
shall take into consideration the intensity of the activities in the framework of the
campaigns of the organizers of the election campaign.
(3) Paid political advertising shall be exempted from the principle of proportionality, i.e.
equality.

Article 75-b
The reporting on regular activities of the state organs, organs of the municipalities and of City of
Skopje, of the state institutions and organizations, as well as on the activities of legal and other
entities entrusted with public authorities, in the programmes of the broadcasters and of the
Programme Service aimed at broadcasting the activities of the Parliament of Republic of
Macedonia, in the period since the day of calling elections until their completion, must not be in
support of the election media presentation of any political entity.

Article 75-c
(1) Editors, journalists, program hosts and presenters who are engaged in the preparation of
the broadcasters’ programs must not participate in the pre-election activities of the
political parties, coalitions, groups of voters and their representatives, i.e. participants in
the election campaign.
(2) If they decide to participate in such activities, their engagement in the broadcasters’
programs shall be halted from the day when elections are called until the completion of
elections.

Article 75-d
(1) The broadcasters are obligated to record the exit signal of their program from the day
when elections are called until their completion, and the recordings of the overall
program should be kept at least 30 days after the end of elections.
(2) On request by the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, the broadcasters
are obligated within 48 hours at latest from the receipt of the request, to submit the
recordings of the requested program, as well as other data related to the media
coverage of elections to the Agency.

Article 75-e

(1) From the day of the announcement of the elections until the beginning of the election
campaign, the broadcasters and printed media shall not broadcast, i.e. publish paid
political advertisements, except for advertisements and announcements for collecting
signatures for supporting a candidature of a group of voters.
(2) The advertisements and announcements for collecting signatures for supporting a
candidature of a group of voters should be broadcasted by the commercial broadcasting
CDL-REF(2016)020 44

companies only within marked advertising blocks, within the allowed time for
advertisements per one real hour of broadcasted programme (total of 12 minutes), out of
which one participant in the election campaign cannot be given more than 8 minutes,
and the orderer should be clearly marked.
(3) The advertisements and announcements from paragraph (2) of this article should only
contain basic data – who the signatures are being collected for, where citizens can
deposit their signatures and at what time of the day. They must not contain additional
information about the candidates.
(4) From the day of the announcement of the elections until the day of their completion, the
broadcasters and printed media and electronic media (internet portals) must not
broadcast, i.e. publish advertisements financed by the Budget of the Republic of
Macedonia, the budgets of the municipalities and the City of Skopje and other persons
who have been entrusted by law with performing public authorities.

Article 75-f
(1) During the election campaign, in the first and second round of voting, the broadcasters
covering elections may broadcast a total of 18 minutes of additional air time for
advertising to every hour of real-time broadcasted programme, exclusively aimed for
paid political advertising, of which for the ruling political parties may be allotted maximum
of 8 minutes, for the political parties in opposition maximum of 8 minutes, for the political
parties in the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia who do not have a parliamentary
group may be allotted one minute of air time, and for the political parties which are not
represented in the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia may be allotted one minute of
air time.
(2) In the allocation of the additional air time for advertising in one hour of real-time
broadcasted programme for paid political advertising, and when there is interest for
merging of slots by one political party into two subsequent real-time hours, the media
outlet is required to ensure a guarantee that the merging of slots into two subsequent
hours, twice in a row, shall not be done by the same political party and shall provide
guarantee for an alternating representation of the ruling and the opposition political
parties.
(3) The broadcasters, the printed media and the electronic media (internet portals) are
required, within 5 days of the day of calling elections, to establish pricelists for paid
political advertising of the participants in the electoral process.
(4) In the period between establishing the pricelists until the start of the election campaign
the broadcasters, the printed media and the electronic media (internet portals) are
required to, at least twice, publicize the pricelists of paragraph (3) of this Article in their
programmes or printed editions.
(5) The printed media and the electronic media (internet portals) are required to submit the
pricelists of paragraph (3) of this Article to the State Election Commission, State Audit
Office and State Commission for Prevention of Corruption within 5 days of the day of
announcement of elections, and the broadcasters to submit them to the Agency for
Audio and Audio Visual Media Services, State Election Commission, State Audit Office
and the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption, within 5 days of the day of
calling elections.
(6) The pricelists must not be subject to change during the election campaign.
(7) The broadcasters, the printed media and the electronic media (internet portals) are
required to use regular pricelist for paid political advertising during the election
campaign, whereby the price per second for paid political advertising should not exceed
the average advertising price, as calculated in the 3 months preceding the day of calling
elections.
 45 CDL-REF(2016)020

(8) The broadcasters, the printed media and the electronic media (internet portals) in the
Republic of Macedonia are required to provide equitable access to paid political
advertising to all participants in the electoral process.“

Article 76
(1) Paid political advertising must be properly and visibly indicated as “paid political
advertising” and clearly separated from other media contents.
(2) The client ordering the advertising must be clearly indicated in all the forms of paid
political advertising.
(3) Participation of minors in paid political advertising is prohibited.
(4) Broadcasters cannot broadcast paid political advertising during news, special informative
programmes, educational and children programmes and during live broadcast from
religious, sport, cultural, entertainment and other events.
(5) The public broadcasting service shall not broadcast paid political advertising.
(6) For the purpose of providing objective information to the voters about the course of the
election campaign and for the purpose of protecting the profession of journalism from
any political influence during the electoral presentation in the media, the special
informative programs must not be used as a form of paid political advertising.
(7) The campaigns of the State Election Commission aimed to educate the voters about
exercising their right to vote and for fair and democratic elections shall not be considered
as paid political advertising. They should be separated from the rest of the program and
the orderer must be clearly indicated.
(8) The broadcasters may not broadcast free political presentation on its programmes as of
the day of calling elections until their completion.

Article 76-a
(1) The Public Broadcasting Service is required to, without compensation, in cooperation
with the State Election Commission, inform the citizens on the manner and the technique
of voting and to broadcast other information related to the electoral process.
(2) During the election campaign, the Public Broadcasting Service is required to provide
equitable access to the newscasts, whereby, 30% of the time it shall broadcast
information on national and global daily events, 30% of the time on the campaign
activities of the ruling political parties, 30% of the time on the campaign activities of the
opposition political parties and 10% of the time on the campaign activities of the political
parties not represented in the Parliament of RM.
(3) The time for informing on campaign activities of political parties shall be distributed in
line with the principles of balanced reporting.
(4) The Public Broadcasting Service is required to provide regular reporting on the election
process for the persons with hearing impairment.
(5) During the election campaign, in the first and the second round of voting, the Public
Broadcasting Service is required to broadcast free political presentation of the
participants in the election process, in line with the principles for balanced coverage of
elections, determined in Article 75-а of this Code.
(6) The date and the order of the broadcast of free political presentation of the participants
in the election campaign shall be determined by drawing of lots.
(7) The free political presentation of the TV programmes services of the Public Broadcasting
Service should be broadcasted in the period between 16:00 to 23:00 hours.
(8) The programme service aimed at broadcasting the activities of the Parliament of
Republic of Macedonia in the duration of 3 hours shall provide free political
presentation of the campaigns of the political parties represented in the Parliament of
Republic of Macedonia, as well as one hour of free political presentation of the
campaigns of the list submitters who are not represented in the Parliament of Republic of
Macedonia. As regards the use of the three hours i.e. the one hour, the participants in
CDL-REF(2016)020 46

the campaign may decide to submit recorded material or use their time slot for direct
address from studio.
(9) The free political presentation must be appropriate and visibly marked as “free political
presentation” throughout the entire duration of the broadcast.
(10) The Public Broadcasting Service, within 60 days of the day of enactment of this Code,
shall adopt Rules for Equitable Political Media Presentation, in consultation with the
participants in the election process and the Agency for Audio and Audio Visual Media
Services and shall publish them on its webpage.
(11) As of the day of calling elections until the election silence, the Public Broadcasting
Service is required to organize debate shows of the main ruling and opposition political
parties, as well as of the other electoral contestants.
(12) As of the day of calling elections until its completion, the reporting on regular activities
of the state organs, the organs of the municipalities and of the City of Skopje, of state
institutions and organizations, as well as on the activities of legal and other entities which
are legally entrusted with public authorities, in the programmes of the broadcasters,
should not be in support of the election media presentation of any political entity.

Article 76-b
(1) During the election silence, all forms of electoral media presentation of the participants
of electoral campaign shall stop.
(2) Broadcasters shall continue to report about the election process on the day of voting
also during the election silence.
(3) During the reporting on the days of election silence it shall be considered that media
violated the election silence if they broadcast, i.e. publish: any information,
photographs, audio and audio-visual materials related to or in which the participants of
the elections participate; any forms of media reporting which is openly or covertly in
favour of certain electoral campaign and can impact the voters’ decision; data that
reveal the identity of the political entities and/or individuals involved in incidents or
other irregularities on the day of voting, as well as statements made by candidates in
the election process, participants of the election campaign, representatives of political
parties, and officials in the state administration bodies.

Article 76-c
(1) The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services is obligated to follow the
electoral media presentation and Program service of broadcasters and electronic
media (internet portals) in the Republic of Macedonia from the day of announcement
of elections until the end of voting on the Election Day.
(2) The Agency for Audio and Audio Visual Media Services is required, as of the day of
calling elections, to submit weekly reports to the State Election Commission, and daily
reports during the election campaign, and these shall be published on the Agency’s
webpage.
(3) The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services is obligated within 48 hours
from having established the violations of the provisions from the Electoral Code, to
initiate a misdemeanour procedure in front of a competent court against the
broadcaster or the electronic media outlet (internet portal) that violated the provisions.
(4) The competent court is required to decide upon the request for a misdemeanor appeal
from paragraph (2) of this article within 48 hours from the day of the receipt of the
request.
(5) The decision of the competent court can be appealed within 24 hours from the receipt
of the decision.
(6) The second instance court is required to decide upon the appeal within 48 hours from
the day of the receipt of the appeal.
 47 CDL-REF(2016)020

(7) If the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services establishes a violation of the
provisions for balanced media coverage by the public broadcasting service, it shall
submit a proposal for instituting proceedings for the dismissal of the Director of the
Public broadcasting service.
(8) The Agency for Audio and Audio and Visual Media Services is required, within 60 days
of the day of enactment of this Code, to adopt a Methodology for monitoring of the
election media presentation via radio and TV programme services and electronic
media (internet portals) during the election processes, which shall be published on its
webpage.

Article 76-d
(1) The funds for realization of the legal obligations of the Agency for Audio and
Audiovisual Media Services are provided from the Budget of Republic of Macedonia
and they are paid on the special account of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual
Media Services.
(2) These funds are aimed only for financing the activities of the Agency during the
election process.
(3) If the approved funds exceed the real costs incurred for the activities of the Agency
with regard to the election process, the Agency is obligated to return the rest of the
funds on the account of the Budget of Republic of Macedonia.

3. Opinion polls
Article 77
(1) Opinion polls related to participants in the election process shall be published no
later than five days before Election Day for the first and the second round of voting.
(2) When publishing the opinion polls related to participants in the election process the
media and electronic media (internet portals) are obligated to provide information on
the client who ordered and financed the poll, the institution that conducted the poll,
applied methodology, size and the structure of the sample and the period when the
poll was conducted.
(3) The results of the opinion polls carried out on the day of voting must not be
announced before 19:00 hours, i.e. before the closure of polling stations.

4. Election posters

Article 78
(1) Displaying election posters free of charge shall be allowed only at locations
determined by the municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje.
(2) The municipality and the City of Skopje have an obligation to mark the locations from
paragraph (1) of this article separately for each list submitter.
(3) The municipality and the City of Skopje may determine additional places where
posters can be displayed for a fee.
(4) Municipalities and the City of Skopje immediately after the end of elections are
obliged to utilize part of the funds referred to in paragraph (3) of this article in order to
eliminate the garbage left during the election campaign.
(5) The municipality and the City of Skopje are obliged to announce the conditions for
obtaining the right to use the locations for displaying posters no later than 50 days
prior to Election Day.
(6) The municipality and the City of Skopje are obliged to ensure equal conditions for all
election campaign participants when displaying posters at the designated locations.
(7) Election posters may be displayed on residential buildings and other private
buildings, with prior consent of the owner of the building.
CDL-REF(2016)020 48

(8) Election posters may not be displayed on buildings where the polling station is
located or in the room where voting takes place.

5. Advertising panels and billboards

Article 78 - а
(1) Political advertising on advertising panels and billboards is permitted inclusive of 20
December 2015, as well as during the election campaign.
(2) The maximum number of advertising panels and billboards of paragraph (1) of this
Article that can be used for political advertising is 50% of the total number on the
territory of a particular municipality, City of Skopje, or on the territory managed by a
particular legal entity.
(3) The political parties have a right to rent advertising panels and billboards for political
advertising in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, in line with the following
criteria:
- 40% of the total number shall be available to the ruling parties;
- 40% of the total number shall be available to the opposition parties in the
Parliament of Republic of Macedonia;
- 10% of the total number shall be available to the parliamentary parties that have
no parliamentary groups in the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia; and
- 10% of the total number shall be available to the non-parliamentary parties in
Republic of Macedonia.
(4) Municipalities in Republic of Macedonia, the City of Skopje and the legal entities who
manage the advertising panels and billboards are required to, within five days of the
day of calling elections, publicly announce the location and the rental prices for the
advertising panels and billboards. The price should not be changed during the
election process and it should not exceed the average rental price calculated in the
three months preceding the day of calling elections
(5) Municipalities in Republic of Macedonia, the City of Skopje and the legal entities who
manage the advertising panels and billboards are required to allocate the locations
available for political advertising according to the criteria of paragraph (3) of this
Article, by drawing of lots.
(6) The lot drawing of paragraph (5) of this Article shall be conducted by the State Election
Commission of Republic of Macedonia.
(7) If a political party or a coalition fails to rent the total available percentage of advertising
panels and billboards or the drawn locations, the remainder of the political parties
have a right to rent them.

Article 79
(1) Destroying election posters or affixing posters on top of the posters of the other
election campaign participants shall be forbidden.
(2) The participant of the election campaign is obliged, within 30 days after the end of
the elections, to clean up the garbage left over from the posters.

6. Pre-election rallies

Article 80
(1) The pre-election rallies shall be public.
(2) The body in charge of internal affairs shall be in charge of keeping law and order
during the pre-election rallies.

Article 81
 49 CDL-REF(2016)020

The election campaign participant shall inform in writing the competent body for internal affairs,
through the regional office regarding the organisation of a pre-election rally on public places and
on public transport places, no later than 48 hours prior to the scheduled time for the rally.

Article 82
1. Pre-election rallies may not be held in military buildings, religious buildings, hospitals,
retirement homes, schools, kindergartens, and other public institutions.
2. As an exception, the participants of election campaign shall be allowed to hold pre-
election rallies in schools, or cultural centres if there is no other appropriate building
in the municipality where the rally could be held.
3. The permission for holding a pre-election rally shall be issued by a person in charge of
the institution, under equal conditions for all election campaign participants.
4. The facilities, equipment or other property of the state bodies and bodies of local self-
government and the City of Skopje may not be used for the purposes of election
campaigns.
5. As an exception, the facilities of the bodies from paragraph (4) of this article may be
used if there are no other appropriate facilities in the place that may be used for the
purposes of election campaign.
6. The permission shall be issued by the person in charge of the institution, under equal
conditions for all election campaign participants.

7. Financing of the elections

Article 83
(1) The election campaign may not be financed from:
 funds from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia, except the funds defined
in article 86, paragraph (2) of this Code;
 funds from the budget of municipalities and the City of Skopje, except the funds
defined in article 86, paragraph (2) of this Code;
 funds from public enterprises and institutions;
 funds from citizens' associations, religious communities, religious groups, and
foundations;
 funds from foreign governments, international institutions, bodies, and
organisations of foreign states and other foreigners;
 funds from joint ventures with dominant foreign capital; and
 funds from unidentified sources.
(2) The election campaign may be financed by:
 the membership fee of the political party;
 private persons, up to 3.000 Euro in MKD equivalent; and
 legal entities, to the amount of 30.000 Euro in MKD equivalent.
(3) The election campaign may be financed by donations of private persons and legal
entities in a form of money, goods and services in a value that may not exceed the
amount determined in paragraph (2), lines 2 and 3 of this article.
(4) If the amount of the donation is larger than the amount determined in paragraph (2),
lines 2 and 3 of this article, the participant of the election campaign shall be obliged
to transfer the difference between the allowed and donated value to the Budget of
Republic of Macedonia, within five days of receiving the donation.
(5) If the origin of the donation cannot be determined, the participant of the election
campaign is obliged within the five days of receiving the donation, to transfer the
donated value to the Budget of Republic of Macedonia.

Article 83-a
CDL-REF(2016)020 50

(1) In terms of article 83 of this Code, the following shall also be considered as a
donation:
 providing services free of charge to the participant of the election campaign;
 providing services to the participant of the election campaign, which are funded
by a third party;
 selling of goods and providing services to the participant of the election
campaign and charging prices lower than the market prices.
(2) The seller of the goods, i.e. the service provider shall be obliged to inform the
participant of the election campaign of the market price of the goods sold, i.e. the
services provided and shall be obliged to send him/her the invoice.
(3) The difference between the market price and the invoiced value shall be considered
as donation.
(4) Pubic companies shall be obliged to offer equal prices for their services to all the
participants in the campaign through their official price lists.
(5) The discounts in the prices that the broadcasters and printed media give for political
advertising to the participants of the election campaign shall be considered as a
donation, expressed in money value, that is not higher than 50,000 Euro in MKD
equivalent.

Article 83-b
(1) The participant of election campaign during the campaign shall keep a registry of
donations with the following data:
 the name, i.e. title of each of the donors;
 the type and the value of the donation;
 the date of receipt of the donation
(2) The registry of donations shall also contain data of paid donation of subjects which
are directly or indirectly related to the political party or are under its control.
(3) The registry of donations is kept in a template prescribed by a rulebook adopted by
the Minister of Finance, which establishes the form, the content and the manner of
keeping the registry of donations.

Article 84
When financing the election campaign, the election campaign participant may spend no
more than 110 Denars per registered voter in the electoral district i.e. municipality for
which they have submitted list of candidate/s, both in the first and the second round of
voting.
Article 84-a
From the day of the adoption of the decision for announcement of the elections until the
completion of the election, the state bodies and the bodies of the local self-government
and of the City of Skopje shall not publish advertisements financed by the Budget of the
Republic of Macedonia, i.e. the budgets of the municipalities and of the City of Skopje.

Article 84-b
(1) The participant of the election campaign is required on the eleventh day from the day
of the election campaign to submit financial report with itemization of expenses on
the incomes and expenditures on the election campaign bank account from the day it
was open until the end of the tenth day of the election campaign.
(2) The participant of the election campaign is obligated one day prior to the second
round of voting to submit financial report with itemization of expenses about the
revenues and expenditure on the bank account for organization of the election
campaign for the second round of voting.
 51 CDL-REF(2016)020

(3) The participant of the election campaign is required one day after the end of the
election campaign to submit financial report with itemization of expenses on the
incomes and expenditures on the election campaign bank account for the second
half of the election campaign.
(4) Reports from paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article shall be submitted on a template
adopted by the Minister of Finance, which includes information on the name or
designation of the donor, type and amount of donations, dates when donations were
received and expenditures for each donation as well as incomes and expenditures
throughout the election campaign, as well as data for donations received from a third
party.
(5) Integral part of the template from paragraph (4) of this article shall form the
Guidelines for the manner of filling out the template of the report.
(6) Reports shall be submitted to the State Election Commission, State Audit Office and
the State Commission for Preventing Corruption, which are required to publish them
on their web sites.
(7) The reports submitted by the political entities in line with paragraph (6) shall also be
published on their webpages.

8. Financial Report

Article 85
(1) The participant in the election campaign is required immediately, and latest within 30
days of the day of closure of the bank account of Article 71, paragraph 10, to submit
a final financial report for the election campaign.
(2) The financial report on the election campaign shall be submitted in a template
prescribed in article 84-b, paragraph (3).
(3) The financial report shall be submitted to the State Election Commission, State Audit
Office, State Commission for Preventing Corruption and the Parliament of the
Republic of Macedonia, and for the local elections also to the Municipal Council and
the Council of the City of Skopje.
(4) The financial report from paragraph (3) of this article shall be published by State
Election Commission, State Audit Office and the State Commission for Preventing
Corruption on their websites.
(5) When the participant of election campaign is a group of voters, the excess of
collected funds shall be donated to charity.
(6) The State Audit Office shall, within 60 days of the submission of the report from
paragraph (1) of this article, conduct a revision. The revision shall include all
transactions conducted as of the day of the opening of the election account until its
closure.
(7) Should the State Audit Office detect irregularities in the financial report of the election
campaign participant, which are contrary to the provisions of this Code, the State
Audit Office shall initiate a misdemeanour procedure or it shall report the
irregularities to the respective public prosecutor within 30 days of the day of its
detection.
(8) During the revision of the financial report of the participant in the election campaign
the State Audit Office has the right to ask for additional explanations and data with
the aim of through detection of eventual irregularities.
(9) The State Election Commission, the State Audit Office and the State Commission on
Prevention of Corruption shall sign a Memorandum of Cooperation. This
Memorandum shall govern the implementation of the provisions on election
campaign financing for exchange of information on detected irregularities in the
submitted financial reports and the respective measures taken against the party
which is subject of oversight.
CDL-REF(2016)020 52

Article 85-a
(1) The broadcasters and the printed media in the Republic of Macedonia shall be
obliged to submit a report for the advertising space that has been used by the each
participant of the election campaign and the financial means that have been paid or
are invoiced to be paid based.
(2) The report from paragraph (1) of this article shall be submitted no later than 15 days
following the day of the completion of the election campaign.
(3) The report from paragraph (1) of this article shall be submitted to the State Election
Commission, the State Audit Office and State Commission for the Prevention of
Corruption, which shall be obliged to publish them on their web sites.
(4) The report from paragraph (1) of this article shall be submitted on a template
prescribed by the Minister of Finance.

Article 85-b
The audit reports of the reports of the election campaign participants shall be published on the
State Audit Office website, within a deadline prescribed by law.

9. Reimbursement of election expenses

Article 86
(1) The election campaign participants’ whose candidates have been elected Members
of Parliament, Member of Council, and Mayors, shall have the right to reimbursement
of the election expenses of 15 Denars per vote won.
(2) The participants of election campaign from whose candidates’ lists have not been
elected candidate for President of the Republic, candidate for Member of Parliament,
candidate for Member of Council, candidate for Mayor, shall have the right to
reimbursement of election expenses in the amount of 15 Denars per vote won, if they
have won at least 1.5% of the total number of cast votes on the level of the Republic,
the electoral district, i.e. the municipality.
(3) The reimbursement of election expenses shall be paid from the Budget of the
Republic of Macedonia, i.e. from the budget of the municipality and the City of
Skopje, within three months from the day of submitting the financial report on the
election campaign, based on the report from the State Election Commission
regarding the elections.
(4) The reimbursement of the election expenses shall be determined with a decision of
the Parliament, of the Municipal Council and the Council of the City of Skopje.

Article 87
(1) Based on the decision from article 86, paragraph (4) of this Code, the competent
body shall adopt a decision for non-reimbursement of the expenses to the election
campaign participants in accordance with article 85, paragraph (7) of this Code.
 53 CDL-REF(2016)020

VII. ADMINISTERING THE ELECTIONS

1. Funds for administering the elections

Article 88
(1) The funds for administering elections shall be provided from the Budget of the
Republic of Macedonia and they shall be at the disposal of the State Election
Commission.
(2) Two thirds of the funds intended for the elections shall be used to cover the
expenses related to the election activities of the bodies in charge of administering the
elections.
(3) One third of the funds intended for administering the elections shall be used to cover
part of the expenses incurred by the election campaign participants whose
candidates have been elected.
(4) The funds for administering local elections shall be provided for from the budget of
the municipality and the City of Skopje and they shall be at the disposal of the
Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje;
the funds for the election material shall be provided from the Budget of the Republic
of Macedonia and they shall be at disposal of the State Election Commission.
(5) As an exception to paragraph (4) of this article, in case of failure to provide the funds
for administering the local elections as a result of a blocked bank account of the
municipality and the City of Skopje, the funds for administering the local elections
shall be provided from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia and they shall be at
the disposal of the municipal election commission, i.e. the Election Commission of
the City of Skopje.

2. Election material

Article 89
The election material for administering the elections shall consist of:
 ballot boxes and panels;
 templates for protocols and a notebook for the work of the Election Boards;
 ballot booklet, according to the excerpts of the Voters List;
 candidates lists;
 signed excerpt from the Voters List;
 devices for marking and inspection of persons who have voted (spray and UV lamp);
 seals;
 graffiti pad
 scanner with a biometric sensor;
 computer, reader for ID cards or travel documents with biometric data;
 voting guidelines; and
 other materials necessary for voting.

Article 90
(1) The voting instruction shall be displayed on a visible place on the voting panel and
other visible places at the polling stations in accordance with the instruction issued
by the State Election Commission. The instruction shall be printed in the Macedonian
language and its Cyrillic alphabet and in the languages and alphabets of the other
communities mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of
Macedonia.
(2) The candidate list shall be displayed in the polling station.
CDL-REF(2016)020 54

3. Handover of the election material

Article 91
(1) The State Election Commission shall handover the election material to the Municipal
Election Commissions no later than 72 hours prior to Election Day.
(2) The State Elections Commission shall handover the election material to the
authorised person from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no later than 5 days prior to
Election Day.
(3) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall handover the election material to the DCO, i.e.
consular offices, immediately and no later than 24 hours upon receipt.
(4) For the handover of the election material, protocol shall be filled out, in which the
total number of ballots with the related serial numbers and the required number of
lists of candidates to be displayed in the voting facilities shall be indicated.

Article 92
(1) The Municipal Election Commission shall be obliged to handover the election
material to the Election Boards on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia one day
prior to Election Day.
(2) For the handover of the election material from the Municipal Election Commission to
the Election Boards a protocol shall be filled out, in which the total number of ballots
with the related serial numbers and the rest of the necessary voting material shall be
indicated.
(3) The president and Election Board members and the member of the election
commission who is handing over the material shall all sign the protocol.
(4) Should the present representatives of the lists submitters have objections to the
handover of the election materials, they shall have the right to record the same in the
protocol and they may be used as a basis in the procedure for protection of the right
to vote.
(5) If the objections of the authorised representatives from paragraph (4) of this article
are not recorded in the protocol, they shall have the right to submit them to the
Municipal Election Commission within 5 hours of the signing of the protocol.
(6) Accredited observers shall have the right to be present at the handover of election
material.

4. Ballot

Article 93
(1) The ballot shall be printed in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet.
(2) The name of the list submitter, the name and the surname of the candidate i.e. the
head of the list shall be written in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet.
(3) For the members of the other communities, the name of the list submitter, the name
and the surname of the candidate i.e. the head of the list shall be written in the
Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet and in the language and the alphabet
of the community to which they belong.
(4) In the municipalities where at least 20% of citizens speak an official language other
than Macedonian, the ballots for the elections shall be printed, in addition to
Macedonian and its Cyrillic alphabet, also in the official language and alphabet that
are used by citizens in that municipality.

Article 94
(1) If there are list submitters with the same name and surname, then the initial letter of
their middle name shall also be written.
 55 CDL-REF(2016)020

(2) On the ballot, the candidates shall be given the same order as defined in the single
candidates’ list.
(3) The ballot shall contain a part for voting and a part that shall remain on the ballot
stub.

4.1 For President of the Republic

Article 95
(1) The part of the ballot for voting in the election of President of the Republic shall
contain:
 title of the ballot, municipality and number of the polling station, for voting in the
Republic of Macedonia;
 title of the ballot, the location of the DCO, i.e. consular offices for the out-of-
country voting;
 ordinal number, name and symbol (if any) of the list submitter; and
 name and surname of the candidates, according to data from the public
registry.
(2) The part of the ballot that remains on the ballot stub shall contain the serial number
of the ballot, the municipality, i.e. the seat of the DCO i.e. consular offices and the
number of the polling station.
(3) The name of the ballot shall contain the flag of the Republic of Macedonia.

4.2 For Members of Parliament

Article 96
(1) The part of the ballot used for voting in the election of Members of Parliament shall
contain:
 title of the ballot, number of electoral district, municipality and number of the
polling station;
 ordinal number, name and symbol (if any) of the list submitter; and
 name and surname of the candidates, according to data from the public
registry.
(2) The part of the ballot that remains on the ballot stub shall contain the serial number
of the ballot, the number of the electoral district, the municipality and the number of
the polling station.
(3) The name of the ballot shall contain the number of the electoral district and the flag
of the Republic of Macedonia.

4.3 For Members of Council

Article 97
(1) The part of the ballot used for voting in the election of Members of Council shall
contain:
 title of the ballot, number of polling station, and municipality;
 ordinal number, name and symbol (if any) of the list submitter; and
 name and surname of the first candidate on the list, according to data from the
public registry.
(2) The part of the ballot that remains on the ballot stub shall contain the serial number
of the ballot, the municipality, and the number of the polling station.
(3) The name of the ballot for election of Members of Council shall contain the name of
the municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje, for which the election is being administered.

4.4 For Mayor

CDL-REF(2016)020 56

Article 98
(1) The part of the ballot used for voting in the elections of Mayor shall contain:
 Title of the ballot, number of the polling station, and municipality;
 Name and symbol (if any) of the list submitter; and
 Ordinal number, name and surname of the candidates, according to data from
the public registry.
(2) The part of the ballot that remains on the ballot stub shall contain the serial number
of the ballot, the municipality, and the number of the polling station.
(3) The name of the ballot for election of Mayor shall contain the name of the
municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje, for which the election is being administered.

5. Polling station

Article 99
(1) A place where voting will take place (premises in the facility) shall be determined for
each polling station (hereinafter: polling station).
(2) The list of candidates shall be posted in the premises that have been determined.

Article 100
(1) The president and members of the Election Board shall gather in the premises where
voting takes place no later than one hour prior to the beginning of the voting to
determine whether:
 the room is in the same condition as was left on the day before Election Day;
 the election materials are in the same condition as left on the day before
Election Day; and
 the ballot box is empty.
(2) The Election Board shall prepare a protocol on the condition encountered, which is
signed by the president and members of the Election Board.
(3) The remarks of the board members shall be entered into the protocol.
(4) Should the present representatives of the lists submitters have any remarks, the
president shall be obliged to enable them to enter them in the protocol and they may
be used as a basis in the procedure for protection of the right to vote.
(5) If the remarks of the present representatives of the lists submitters from paragraph
(4) of this article are not entered in the protocol, they shall have the right to submit
the remarks to the Municipal Election Commission within 5 hours after the signing of
the protocol.
(6) Accredited observers shall also have the right to be present at the inspection of the
conditions before voting begins.

6. Duration of voting

Article 101
(1) Voting shall begin at 7:00 hours and last uninterruptedly until 19:00 hours, and in the
DCO, i.e. consular offices the time difference in the country shall be taken into
consideration, i.e. from 7:00 to 19:00 hours according to the time zone in the country
where the voting takes place.
(2) The polling station shall be closed at 19:00 hours, and the voters who happen to be
in the building where the voting takes place will be allowed to cast their vote.
(3) The Election Board may close the polling station before the end of the period from
paragraph (1) of this article, in case when all the voters registered on the excerpt of
 57 CDL-REF(2016)020

the Voters List have already cast their votes, but shall not start with the counting of
the votes before 19:00 hours.

7. Securing the polling station

Article 102
(1) The police shall secure the polling station from 6:00 hour until 19:00 hours.
(2) Upon closure of the polling station and during the counting of the votes, the police
shall secure the building where the polling station and the Election Board are located
and shall remove all unauthorised persons from the building.
(3) Upon request by the Election Board, the police shall secure the Election Board until
the protocol and the electoral material are handed over to the Municipal Election
Commission i.e. Election Commission of the City of Skopje.

8. Competencies of the Election Board during voting

Article 103
(1) The Election Board shall maintain peace and o
(2) rder at the polling station.
(3) The Election Board may remove anybody who disturbing the peace and order at the
polling station.
(4) The facility where the polling station is located and access to it shall be secured by
the police during voting.
(5) The Election Board may ask for police assistance in order to restore order at the
polling station.
(6) Nobody shall be allowed to come to the polling station armed, except for the police in
the case provided for in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this article.
(7) The Election Board in co-operation with police shall be obliged to remove the
promotional materials from the building or the room where voting takes place.
(8) The police, upon request from the Election Board shall be obliged to remove the
unauthorised persons from the building and the room where voting takes place as
well as the unauthorised persons in a radius of 100 meters from the building where
voting takes place.

Article 104
(1) The Election Board may suspend the voting when the order at the polling station is
disturbed, up until the moment it is again restored.
(2) The voting may be suspended in cases of natural disasters or other emergency
circumstances.
(3) The Election Board shall suspend the voting if the building where the polling station
is located is not secured by the police, and this was needed, or if the police was
summoned but failed to respond to the request.
(4) The president or the deputy of the president of the Election Board may summon the
police to enter in the room where voting is taking place if there is a need for that.
(5) If voting has been disrupted for more than an hour, it will be prolonged for as much
time as the disruption lasted, but no longer than three hours.
(6) The reasons for the disruption of the voting and its duration shall be entered into the
protocol.

9. Rights and obligations of the list submitters and the accredited observers during
voting
Article 105
CDL-REF(2016)020 58

(1) Should the representatives of the lists submitters have any remarks on the work of
the Election Board during voting, they may point out the irregularities in order to
eliminate the same.
(2) Should the present representatives of the lists submitters have any remarks, the
president of the Election Board shall be obliged to enable them to enter the remarks
in the protocols and they may be used as a basis in the procedure for protection of
the right to vote.
(3) If the objections from paragraph (2) of this article raised by the representatives of the
lists submitters were not entered in the protocol, they shall have the right to submit
the same to the Municipal Election Commission within 5 hours after the signing of the
protocols.
(4) Accredited observers, should they have any objection about the work of the Election
Board, shall have the right to enter them in the log of the polling station.
(5) Representatives of the list submitters and accredited observers may follow up-close
the verification of a voter’s identity who is approaching to vote.

Article 106
(1) The president, the members of Municipal Election Commissions and Election
Boards, as well as the Election Boards in the DCO i.e. consular offices, and their
deputies, as well as the representatives of list submitters, and the observers shall not
be allowed to have any marks or symbols of a political party, coalition or candidate.
(2) Authorized representatives of submitters of lists, during the voting at the polling
stations, shall wear badge with the number of the polling station they are authorised
to observe.
(3) The Election Board can remove from the polling station any person who uses mobile
phone or a camera to take photographs of the ballot paper during voting.

10. Voting

Article 107
(1) The voting takes please in person at the polling stations in the Republic of
Macedonia and in the DCO, i.e. consular offices.
(2) Voting on behalf of other person shall not be permitted, except in cases stipulated in
article 111 of this Code.

10.1 Verifying the identity of the voter

Article 108
(1) The voters vote one at a time.
(2) When the voter approaches to vote, the electoral board checks whether the voter is
at the adequate polling station and, with a ultraviolet lamp, checks whether there is
an inerasable mark on the nail and the thumb on the right hand.
(3) When the voter approaches to vote, the Election Board checks his/her personal
identity.
(4) The voter shall prove his/her personal identity with an identity card or a passport.
(5) Having verified the voter’s identity, the Election Board circles the ordinal number of
the voter in the excerpt of the Voters List and the voter puts his/her signature there. If
the voter is illiterate, then the voter shall affix his/her fingerprint of the right thumb. If
the voter does not have a right thumb, then the voter shall affix the fingerprint of the
left thumb. If he/she does not have a left thumb as well, then no fingerprint shall be
affixed.
 59 CDL-REF(2016)020

(6) After the identification, the voter receives a ballot, and the thumb on the right hand,
i.e. the thumb on the left hand, if the voter has no thumb on the right hand, shall be
marked with spray, while paying attention that the spray touches upon the nail of the
thumb. If the voter has no thumb on both hands, the marking shall not be done.

Article 108-а
a. Voters shall proceed to voting one at a time.
b. When the voter approaches to cast a vote, the Election Board shall verify
whether the voter is at the correct polling station.
c. When the voter approaches to cast a vote, the Election Board shall verify the
voter’s personal identity.
d. Personal identity shall be verified through the electronic system consisting of a
computer, biometric data reader of ID cards and travel documents and a scanner
with a biometric sensor placed at the polling station.
e. The verification from paragraph (4) of this article shall commence by inserting the
ID card or travel document with the voter’s biometric data in the reader of ID
cards and travel documents, followed by the voter placing the correct finger on
the scanner with a biometric sensor.
f. The voter’s fingerprint received from the scanner shall be compared, through the
electronic system, with the data on the voter’s fingerprint received from reading
the ID card or the travel document.
g. If the biometric data received from the reader and the scanner from paragraph
(6) match, it shall be considered that the voter’s identity has been established.
h. After the voter’s identity has been determined, the Election Board shall circle the
voter’s ordinal number in the Voters List excerpt and the voter shall place his/her
signature, and if the voter is illiterate, he/she shall leave a fingerprint from the
index finger on the right hand. If the voter does not have a right index finger,
he/she shall leave a fingerprint from the index finger on the left hand, but if the
voter does not have a left index finger either, no fingerprints shall be left.
i. After the identification, the voter shall be given a ballot and his/her right thumb
shall be marked with visible ink, i.e. the left thumb if the voter does not have a
right thumb, making sure that the thumb nail has also been marked. If the voter
does not have a thumb on either hand, then the right index finger shall be
marked with visible ink, i.e. the left index finger if he/she does not have an index
finger on the right hand.

11. Manner of voting

Article 109
(1) Voting shall be performed with one ballot for each type of election determined by this
Code.
(2) The ballot shall be removed in numerical sequence from the stub of the booklet, a
stamp shall be put on the front side of the ballot and it shall be given to the voter.
(3) The voter shall be instructed of the manner of voting and shall be allowed to vote.
(4) The voter cast his vote concurrently when there are two or more elections or a
referendum.

Article 110
The voter shall cast their vote by circling the ordinal number of the list submitter i.e. the ordinal
number of the candidate for whom he/she has decided to vote and shall put the folded ballot
into the ballot box.
CDL-REF(2016)020 60

11.1 Voting of incapacitated and ill persons

Article 111
(1) The voter who is unable to vote at the polling station (incapacitated or ill person,
pursuant to the Instruction of the State Election Commission) but wants to vote, shall
notify the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje thereof no later than seven days prior to Election Day.
(2) The notification from paragraph (1) of this Article shall refer both to the first and the
second round of voting.
(3) The notification from paragraph (1) of this article may also be submitted through a
proxy.
(4) The Election Board shall enable the person from paragraph (1) of this article to vote
in his/her home, one day prior to Election Day in a manner that will guarantee the
secrecy of the voting.
(5) The Election Board shall provide a special ballot box for the voting referred to in
paragraph (3) of this article, which is taken empty to the home where the voter is
located.
(6) The voting, from paragraph (3) of this article, shall be recorded in the protocol of the
Election Board.
(7) For the date and time of voting, from paragraph (3) of this article, the president of the
Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall notify the representatives of the list submitters in writing.

11.2 Voting of persons who are not able to vote by themselves

Article 112
(1) A voter, who due to a physical disability or illiteracy is unable to vote in the manner
defined by this Code, shall have the right to bring along a person to assist him/her
with voting.
(2) If the voter from paragraph (1) of this article does not bring along a person to assist
him/her with voting, the Election Board shall appoint another person from among the
voters.
(3) The person helping another person with voting shall not be among the Election
Board members, representatives of the list submitters or observers.
(4) The same person may provide voting assistance to no more than two voters, as of
paragraph (1) of this article.
(5) The Election Board shall instruct the person from paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
article that his/her assistance should not influence the voter's choice.
(6) The voting from paragraph (1) of this article shall be recorded in the protocol of the
Election Board.

11.3 Voting of voter – person with special needs

Article 112-a
The Election Board shall enable the voting of a person with special needs who cannot enter in
the polling station and vote in accordance with this Code, based on the Instruction of the State
Election Commission.
 61 CDL-REF(2016)020

11.4 Voting of persons who on Election Day are serving a penitentiary sentence or are in
custody or in home custody

Article 113
(1) Voters who on Election Day are serving a prison sentence or are in custody, i.e.
home custody shall vote in the penitentiary institutions or in the place where the
home custody is located.
(2) Following receipt of the lists of voters who on Election Day are serving a prison
sentence or are in custody, the Municipal Election Commission is required to
immediately submit the lists to the penitentiary institutions where the voters serve a
prison sentence or are held in custody.
(3) The voters who on Election Day are serving home custody and are willing to vote
shall use an authorised person to inform the Municipal Election Commission or the
Election Commission of the city of Skopje, at the latest three days prior to the
Election Day.
(4) For the voters from paragraphs (2) and (3) of this article, the elections shall be
administered by the Electoral Board of the nearest polling station or a special
Electoral Board, in accordance with this Code, one day before Election Day, and the
representatives of the list submitters are notified thereof with a view to their being
present at the voting.
(5) The Electoral Board shall enable voting for the voters from paragraph (3) of this
article in the place of home custody, one day before the Election Day, while
preserving secrecy of the vote.
(6) For the voting from paragraph (5) of this article the Electoral Board shall provide a
separate empty ballot box, brought in the place where the voter is serving his/her
home custody.
(7) With regard to the voting of voters referred to in paragraph (3) of this article, the
corresponding election commission shall inform the respective authorities that
ordered the home custody and the respective investigative body.
(8) The Electoral Board shall produce separate protocols about the voting of these
voters.
(9) The protocols and the election material shall be submitted to the respective
Municipal Election Commissions after the completion of voting.

Article 113-a
(1) The voters who are temporarily employed or residing abroad on Election Day shall
vote in the DCO, i.e. consular offices of the Republic of Macedonia abroad, one day
prior to the Election Day in the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) Out of country voting will be conducted in the DCO or consular offices of the
Republic of Macedonia abroad:
 Republic of Albania – Tirana;
 Republic of Austria - Vienna, which covers the Slovak Republic;
 Commonwealth of Australia – Canberra and Melbourne;
 Kingdom of Belgium – Brussels, which covers Grand Dutch of Luxembourg;
 Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo;
 Republic of Bulgaria – Sofia, which covers Republic of Moldova;
 Canada – Ottawa and Toronto;
 People’s Republic of China – Beijing, which covers the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea and Socialistic Republic of Vietnam;
 Republic of Croatia – Zagreb;
 Kingdom of Denmark – Copenhagen;
 Arabic Republic of Egypt – Cairo;
CDL-REF(2016)020 62

 Republic of Estonia – Tallinn;

 Republic of France – Paris and Strasbourg, which covers the Portuguese
Republic;
 Federal Republic of Germany – Berlin, Bonn and Munich;
 Republic of Greece – Athens and Thessaloniki;
 Republic of Hungary – Budapest;
 India – New Delhi;
 Italy – Rome and Venice, which covers Malta;
 State of Israel – Tel Aviv;
 The Holy See of Vatican;
 Kingdom of Holland –The Hague;
 Republic of Poland – Warsaw;
 Romania – Bucharest;
 Russian Federation – Moscow, which covers the Republic of Belarus;
 Republic of Serbia – Belgrade;
 Republic of Slovenia – Ljubljana;
 Kingdom of Spain – Madrid;
 Kingdom of Sweden – Stockholm, which covers the Republic of Finland;
 Switzerland – Bern and Geneva, which cover the Principality of Lichtenstein;
 Republic of Turkey – Ankara and Istanbul, which covers Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Republic, Azerbaijan
Republic and Republic of Uzbekistan;
 Ukraine – Kiev;
 Great Britain – London, which covers Ireland and Republic of Iceland;
 USA – Washington, Detroit, Chicago and New York;
 State of Qatar – Doha;
 Montenegro – Podgorica;
 Czech Republic – Prague;
 Republic of Kosovo – Pristina; and
 Kingdom of Norway – Oslo;
 Japan – Tokyo;
 Republic of Kazakhstan – Astana and
 United Arab Emirates– Abu Dhabi
(3) The State Election Commission is obliged immediately after receiving the election
material to deliver it to the DCO, i.e. consular offices through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
(4) For the voters from the paragraph (1) of this article, the elections shall be conducted
by the Election Boards in the DCO, i.e. consular offices.
(5) Election Boards in the DCO, i.e. consular offices shall prepare protocols for the
voting in the DCO, i.e. consular offices.
(6) The ballots shall be placed in separate envelopes, which shall indicate the location of
the DCO, i.e. consular offices and electoral district and it shall be sealed.
(7) Election Boards through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall deliver the protocols,
sealed envelopes and other election material to the State Election Commission after
voting is completed.
(8) State Election Commission shall tabulate and determine the results from the out of
country voting.
 63 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 113-b
(1) The members of the Election Boards for voting at the DCO, i.e. consular offices, shall
vote at the State Election Commission three days prior to the day of the beginning of
the elections in the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) The elections for the voters from paragraph (1) of this article shall be administered by
the Election Board for voting at the SEC.
(3) For the purposes of the voting, from paragraph (2) of this article, a special ballot box
shall be provided which following the end of the voting shall be kept sealed in the
offices of the SEC and shall be opened after the end of the voting in the Republic of
Macedonia.
(4) For the purposes of voting of these voters, the Election Board shall take separate
protocol.
(5) The protocol and the voting material shall be submitted to the corresponding Municipal
Election Commissions after the end of the voting in the Republic of Macedonia.

12. Tabulating and determining the election results at polling stations

Article 114
(1) The results of the voting at polling stations shall be tabulated and determined in the
following manner:
 the unused ballot shall be counted and first the lower right hand corner shall be
torn off and then they shall be put in a special envelope which shall be closed,
sealed and the number of the unused ballots shall be written on it;
 the total number of voters registered in the excerpt of the Voters List who have
cast their vote and have placed their signature or fingerprint, shall be
determined;
 the ballot box shall be opened and the counting of votes shall begin;
 by drawing lots, one member will be selected who will take out and open the
ballots from the ballot box one at a time and hand them over to the president of
the Election Board;
 the ballot is shown to all Election Board members, to the present
representatives of the lists submitters, and to the observers;
 the Election Board shall determine whether or not the ballot is valid and for
which list of candidates i.e. candidate the vote has been cast;
 the cast vote shall be recorded, the ballot shall be put in the corresponding
place and a new ballot shall be taken out of the ballot box.

12.1 Valid ballot

Article 115
(1) The ballot shall be considered valid if it has been circled in the way prescribed in
article 110 of this Code.
(2) A valid ballot shall be considered the one from which in a reliable and unambiguous
way it can be established for which list of candidate, i.e. list of candidates the voter
has cast his/her vote.
(3) The ballot shall be invalid if it is not filled out or multiple lists of candidates or
candidate are circled.

12.2 Voting protocol

Article 116
(1) The Election Board shall enter the following information in the protocol: the ordinal
number of the polling station, the number of the decision for establishing the polling
station, the number of the decision for establishing the Election Board, the time of
beginning and concluding the voting; the total number of voters in the polling station
CDL-REF(2016)020 64

according to the excerpt of the Voters List; the total number of voters who have
voted; the total number of ill and incapacitated persons who have voted; the total
number of ballots put in the ballot box; the total number of ballots that have not been
used; the total number of invalid ballots and the total number of votes each list of
candidates has won separately.
(2) The protocol shall contain a separate tabular section for the tabulation and the
determination of the results from the polling station.
(3) Remarks by the Election Board members shall be recorded in the protocol as well.

Article 117
(1) The protocol shall be signed by the president and Election Board members.
(2) The protocol shall be considered valid if signed by the majority of the Election Board
members whose signatures have been deposited.
(3) The president of the Election Board should state the reasons for the protocol not
being signed by a member of the Election Board.
(4) If the majority of members of the Election Board do not sign the protocol, the protocol
shall be completed and signed by the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the
Election Commission of the City of Skopje, based upon the entire election material.
(5) Should the present representatives of the list submitters have remarks, the president
of the Election Board shall be obliged to enable them to enter their remarks in the
protocol, and the remarks may be used as a basis in the procedure for protection of
the right to vote.
(6) If the remarks by the representatives of the list submitters referred to in paragraph
(5) of this article are not recorded in the protocol, they shall have the right to submit
them to the Municipal Election Commission of the City of Skopje within 5 hours after
the completion of the protocol and those comments may serve as ground for
submitting a complaint.
(7) If the protocol from the voting at the DCO i.e. the consular offices have not been
signed by the majority of members of the Election Board, the protocol shall be
prepared and signed by the State Election Commission based on the entire election
material.
(8) If the accredited observers have any remarks on the work of the Election Board, they
shall be entitled to enter them in the log at the polling station.

12.3 Handover of the election materials to the Municipal Election Commission

Article 118
(1) The protocols and the other election material shall be submitted to the Municipal
Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje by the
Election Board within 5 hours after voting is completed.
(2) A copy of the protocols duplicated as a carbon copy shall be given to every
representative of the list submitter, and the accredited observers. The original
sample that has been previously verified with a seal from the State Election
Commission shall be submitted to the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the
Election Commission of the City of Skopje.
(3) Upon the completion of the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
article, the Election Board shall immediately announce and post the results tabulated
from the voting conducted at the polling station.
(4) The election material shall be submitted to the Municipal Election Commission i.e.
Election Commission of the City of Skopje by the president of the Election Board
escorted by interested Election Board members or representatives of the lists
submitters and representatives of the police, if deemed necessary.
 65 CDL-REF(2016)020

(5) Separate protocols shall be prepared for the handover of the material of paragraph
(1) of this article.

Article 118-a
(1) The protocol and other election material from the voting in the DCO, i.e. consular
offices shall be handed over by the Election Board to the responsible person of the
DCO, i.e. consular offices, designated by the State Election Commission (hereinafter
“the responsible person of the DCO”) within 5 hours from the end of voting. A special
protocol is prepared for this handover.
(2) Every representative of the submitter of the list and accredited observers shall get a
carbon copy of the protocol from the voting. The original sample, stamped earlier by
the State Election Commission shall be delivered to the responsible person of the
DCO, i.e. consular offices.
(3) The responsible person of the DCO, i.e. consular offices is obliged immediately to
submit the State Election Commission via diplomatic post, the protocol from voting in
the DCO, i.e. consular offices, the entire electoral material from the voting in the
DCO, i.e. consular offices and one copy of the special protocol from paragraph (1).

13. Tabulating and determining the results from the voting for election of President of
the Republic
Article 119
(1) The Municipal Election Commission shall, within 5 hours after receipt of the entire
election material from the Election Boards, tabulate the results of the voting for the
list of candidates in the polling stations for which it is competent, and shall submit
them to the State Election Commission.
(2) For its activities, the Municipal Election Commission prepares a protocol.
(3) The protocol on voting shall incorporate the data on the summed-up votes, the
ordinal number of the polling stations in the electoral district for which the municipal
commission is in charge, the total number of voters recorded in the excerpts of the
Voters List for those polling stations, the total number of voters who voted, the total
number of ill and incapacitated persons who voted, the total number of invalid ballots
and the total number of votes received by each candidate list from the polling
stations for which this Municipal Election Commission is in charge.
(4) Remarks from the members of the Municipal Election Commission are also entered
into the protocol.

Article 119-a
(1) The protocol from article 119 of this Code is signed by the president and members of
the Municipal Election Commission.
(2) The protocol shall be valid if it is signed by the majority of the members of the
Municipal Election Commission.
(3) The president of the Municipal Election Commission is obliged to list the reasons for
a member of the Municipal Election Commission refusing to sign the protocol.
(4) The president of the Municipal Election Commission is obliged to allow the present
representatives of submitters of the lists, if they have remarks, to record them into
the protocol so that the remarks will serve as a basis in the procedure for the
protection of the voting right.
(5) Each representative of the list submitter and accredited observers shall receive a
copy of the protocol.
CDL-REF(2016)020 66

13.1 First round

Article 120
The candidate who wins a majority of votes from the total number of voters registered in the
Voters List shall be elected as President of the Republic.

13.2Second round

Article 121
(1) If no candidate for President of the Republic wins the required majority in the first
round, then voting will be administered in the second round for two candidates who
won the most votes in the first round.
(2) The second-round of voting shall take place within 14 days after the first-round of
voting.
(3) For president is elected a candidate who received majority of the votes providing that
more than 40% of the voters have cast their votes.

13.3 Repetition of the voting

Article 122
(1) The entire election procedure shall be repeated if no candidate wins the required
majority in the second round of voting as well.
(2) The entire election procedure shall be repeated if only one candidate is nominated
for President of the Republic and that candidate fails to win the required majority in
the first round of voting.

13.4 Statement

Article 123
(1) Before assuming office, no later than ten days from the day the results are
announced, but not prior to the end of the term of the previous President, the
President of the Republic shall give and sign an ceremonial oath before the
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, as follows:
"I hereby declare that I shall execute the Office of the President of the Republic of
Macedonia in conscientious and responsible manner, that I shall respect the
Constitution and the Laws, and that I shall protect the sovereignty, the territorial
integrity and the independence of the Republic of Macedonia".
(2) The President of the Republic of Macedonia, elected in presidential elections due to
cessation of term, shall deliver the oath from paragraph (1) of this article three days
after the final results are announced.

14. Tabulating and determining of the result from the voting for election of Members of
Parliament

Article 124
(1) The Municipal Election Commission, within 5 hours from receiving the entire election
material from the Election Boards for which it is competent, shall tabulate the results
of the voting for the lists of candidates, at the polling stations of the corresponding
electoral district.

14.1 The protocol for voting

 67 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 125
(1) The Municipal Election Commission shall prepare protocol for its work.
(2) The protocol on the voting shall contain data on the tabulated results of the voting
such as: ordinal number of the polling stations in the electoral district for which it is
competent, the total number of voters for those polling stations registered in the
excerpts in the Voters List, the total number of voters who have voted, the total
number of ill and incapacitated persons who voted, the total number of invalid ballots
and the total number of votes cast for each list of candidates at a level of electoral
district and from the polling stations for which the Municipal Election Commission is
competent.

Article 126
(1) The protocol from article 125 of this Code shall be signed by the president and the
members of the Municipal Election Commission.
(2) The protocols shall be considered valid if signed by the majority of the members of
the Municipal Election Commission.
(3) The president of the Municipal Election Commission should state the reasons for the
protocol not being signed by a member of the commission.
(4) In case the present representatives of the lists submitters have remarks, the
President of the Municipal Election Commission shall be obliged to enable them to
enter the remarks in the protocol and they may serve as basis in the procedure for
protection of the right to vote.
(5) Each representative of the list submitter and accredited observers shall receive a
copy of the protocols.

15. Determining results and distributing mandates for the election of Members of
Parliament

Article 127

(1) The State Election Commission shall tabulate and establish the final results of the
voting in the electoral districts.
(2) The State Election Commission shall establish the results of the voting based on
protocols with tabulated results from the competent Municipal election commission
and the entire election material.
(3) The State Election Commission shall establish the results according to the number of
the final votes won by the lists of candidates in each electoral district, based on the
tabulated results from the Municipal elections commission for the polling stations it is
competent for in the electoral district.
(4) The determination of the election results is conducted with the use of the D’Hondt
method.
(5) Following determination of the total number of received votes for the given number of
candidates in the electoral district (the so called electoral table), each list separately is
divided with the line of divisors 1, 2 and 3 until all MP seats are allotted in the electoral
district.
(6) The quotients of the division of paragraph (5) of this Article shall be aligned by size,
whereby considered will be the same number of largest quotients as is the number of
members of Parliament in the electoral district.
(7) The list of candidates receives the same number of MP seats as the largest quotients
of the number of quotients of paragraph (6) of this Article.
(8) If in the allotment of the last MP seat there are two identical quotients, the mandate
shall be awarded with a lot.
CDL-REF(2016)020 68

(9) In the allocation of the MP seats, elected shall be considered the same number of
candidates as the number of seats won by the list.
(10) From the list of candidates shall be elected the candidates, according to the
established order in the list.

Article 127-a
(1) The State Election Commission shall tabulate and establish the final results of
the voting in the electoral district which covers Europe, Africa, North and South America,
Australia and Asia.
(2) The State Election Commission shall establish the results of the voting based on
protocols with tabulated results from the DCO, and the entire election material.
(3) The State Election Commission shall establish the results according to the
number of the final votes won by the lists of candidates, based on the tabulated results
from the DCO in the electoral district.
(4) The determination of the election results is conducted with the use of the D’Hondt
method.
(5) Following determination of the total number of received votes for the given
number of candidates in the electoral district (the so called electoral table), each list
separately is divided with the line of divisors 1, 2 and 3 until all MP seats are allotted in the
electoral district.
(6) The quotients of the division of paragraph (5) of this Article shall be aligned by
size, whereby considered will be the same number of largest quotients as is the number of
members of Parliament in the electoral district.
(7) The list of candidates receives the same number of MP seats as the largest
quotients of the number of quotients of paragraph (6) of this Article.
(8) If in the allotment of the last MP seat there are two identical quotients, the
mandate shall be awarded with a lot.
(9) In the allocation of the MP seats, elected shall be considered the same number
of candidates as the number of seats won by the list.
(10) From the list of candidates shall be elected the candidates, according to the
established order in the list.

Article 128
(1) For each electoral district, the State Election Commission shall prepare a separate
protocol for determining the results of the voting.
(2) The protocols shall contain the following information on the voting results:
 the total number of polling stations;
 the total number of voters registered in the excerpts of the Voters List for the
electoral district;
 the total number of ill and incapacitated persons; and
 the total number of voters who have cast their vote;
 the total number of invalid ballots;
 the total number of votes that each individual list of candidates won;
 the number of parliamentary seats won by the list of candidates; and
 the name and surname of the candidates elected.

Article 129
(Deleted)
 69 CDL-REF(2016)020

16. Tabulating and determining of the results from the voting for election of Member of
Council
Article 130
(1) The overall results of the voting in a municipality shall be determined by the
Municipal Election Commission.
(2) The Municipal Election Commission shall determine the voting results based on the
received protocols with the tabulated votes from the Election Boards as well as the
complete election material.
(3) The Municipal Election Commission shall determine the results according to the
number of the votes won by lists of candidates for Members of Council, based on the
tabulated results from Election Boards.
(4) The Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall determine the results from the
voting in the City of Skopje for Members of Council according to the number of the
votes won by lists of candidates for Members of Council, based on the tabulated
results received from the election commissions in the area of the City of Skopje.
(5) When determining the election results, the d’Hondt formula shall be applied.
(6) Having determined the total number of votes cast for each list of candidates (ca-
called electorate), each list is divided by the sequence of divisors 1,2,3,4, etc. until
the number of Members of Council for the municipality and the City of Skopje is
reached.
(7) The quotients of the division referred to in paragraph (6) of this article are placed in a
sequence according to size whereby as many largest integers are relevant as the
number of Members of Council being elected.
(8) The list of candidates for Member of Council shall obtain as many municipal
councillor seats as there are the large quotients from the number of results referred
to in paragraph (6) of this article.
(9) Should there be two identical quotients when distributing the last seat in the
Parliament the mandate shall be allotted by drawing lots.
(10) When allocating municipal councillor seats, the number of elected candidates shall
correspond with the number of seats won by the list.
(11) The candidates for Members of Council are elected from the list of candidates
according to the established sequence.

Article 131
(1) The Municipal Election Commission shall prepare protocol to determine the results of
the voting.
(2) The protocol shall contain the following information on the voting results:
 the total number of polling stations in the municipality and the City of Skopje,
 the total number of voters registered in excerpts of the Voters List for the
municipality and the City of Skopje,
 the total number of ill and incapacitated persons who voted ,
 the total number of voters who have cast their vote,
 the number of invalid ballots,
 the total number of votes that each candidates list has won separately,
 the number of seats for Members of Council won by the list of candidates, and
 name and surname of the candidates elected.
(3) A copy of the protocol shall be given to every representative of the list submitter and
accredited observers.
CDL-REF(2016)020 70

17. Determining the results from elections for Mayor

17.1 First round

Article 132
(1) The candidate who wins the majority of the votes from the voters who have voted
shall be considered as elected in the first round of voting for Mayor, provided one
third of the total number of voters registered in the excerpt of the Voters List for the
municipality in question have voted.
(2) If within the first round of voting for the election of a mayor of the municipality, i.e.
Mayor of the City of Skopje, one third of the total number of voters registered in the
excerpt of the Voters List for the corresponding municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje
fail to turn up for voting, the entire election procedure shall be repeated for the
corresponding municipality.
(3) The Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall determine the results of the
voting for Mayor according to the number of votes that each of the lists of candidates
for Mayor wins, based on the tabulated results received from the Municipal Election
Commissions in the area of the City of Skopje.
(4) The entire election procedure shall be repeated if there is one candidate nominated
for Mayor and this candidate fails to win the required majority votes in the first round
of voting referred to in paragraph (1) of this article.

17.2 Second round

Article 133
(1) If in the first round no candidate for Mayor wins the required majority votes in
accordance with article 132, paragraph (1) of this Code, then voting in the second
round shall be organised for two candidates who won the most votes in the first
round.
(2) The second round shall take place within 14 days after the first round of voting.
(3) The candidate who wins the most votes in the second round, shall be considered
elected for Mayor.

17.3 Appointing a trustee until the new elections

Article 134
(1) Should there be no elected Mayor even after the second round of voting, for any
reason, then the election commission shall, within 15 days from the completion of the
elections, notify thereof the Government of the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) Upon receiving the notification referred to in paragraph (1) of this article, the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia shall appoint, within 15 days, a trustee to
execute the office of Mayor.
(3) Within 15 days of having appointed a trustee, the Government of the Republic of
Macedonia shall notify the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
for the purpose of calling elections for Mayor.
 71 CDL-REF(2016)020

18. Announcing the results of the elections

18.1 State Election Commission

Article 135
(1) The State Election Commission shall announce the initial results of the elections
consecutively as they receive them electronically; the results based on the protocols
of the Municipal Election Commissions i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall be announced within 12 hours after the elections are completed.
(2) The State Election Commission shall announce the final results of the voting
immediately and no later than 24 hours from the day they become final.

18.2 Municipal Election Commission

Article 136
(1) Within 7 hours after the voting is completed, the Municipal Election Commission shall
announce the initial results of the elections for Members of Council i.e. Mayor based
on the data from the Election Boards by displaying the results on a bulletin board in
the municipality and announcing them to the media.
(2) Within 10 hours after the voting is completed the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall announce the initial results of the elections for Members of Council i.e.
Mayor, based on the data from Municipal Election Commissions for the City of
Skopje, by displaying them on a bulletin board in the City of Skopje and announcing
them to the media.
(3) The Municipal Election Commissions i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall announce the final results of the elections for Members of Council and
Mayor immediately and no later than 24 hours from the day they become final.

19. Elections for President of the Republic of Macedonia due to the termination of the
mandate

19.1 Calling election

Article 137
(1) Should the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia render an Act that
confirms the existence of conditions for cessation of the office of President of the
Republic of Macedonia, in accordance with article 81 paragraph (8) of the
Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, the Court shall submit it, within 24 hours,
to the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and shall publish it in
the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
(2) Within 48 hours of the moment of the Act referred to in paragraph (1) of this article is
published, the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia shall issue
an act calling elections for President of the Republic of Macedonia.

19.2 Procedure for collection of signatures

Article 138
The collection of signatures in the procedure for nominating a candidate for President of the
Republic of Macedonia and the public inspection of the Voters List shall be administered before
State Election Commission, and shall commence on the fifth day from the day the presidential
elections are called, due to termination of the mandate and shall last ten days.
CDL-REF(2016)020 72

Article 139
(1) The list of candidates for President of the Republic of Macedonia shall be submitted
to the State Election Commission, at the latest, on the sixteenth day from the day
elections are called.
(2) A candidate may revoke his/her candidacy, at the latest, within 17 days from the day
elections are called.

19.3 Competency of the State Election Commission

Article 140
(1) Within 24 hours upon receipt of the list of presidential candidates, the State Election
Commission shall determine whether they have been submitted within the deadline
stipulated in article 139, paragraph (1) of this Code.
(2) Should the Commission of paragraph (1) of this article conclude, upon receiving the
lists, that certain irregularities or omissions have been committed, then it shall call
upon the lists submitters to eliminate them immediately and at the latest within 24
hours after the submission of the lists.
(3) Should the Commission of paragraph (1) of this article conclude that the lists have
been submitted within the prescribed deadline and have been made in accordance
with this Code, i.e. the lists submitters did eliminate the irregularities and omissions,
within the deadline set in paragraph (2) of this article, then the Commission shall
confirm the submitted lists with a decision within 24 hours after receiving the
corrected lists.

Article 141
(1) Should the State Election Commission conclude that the lists were not submitted on
time, i.e. the lists submitters did not eliminate the irregularities and failures found
within the deadline stipulated in article 140, paragraph (2), of this Code the
Commission shall, within 24 hours, reject the submitted list with a decision.
(2) A lawsuit against the decision of the State Election Commission shall be submitted to
the Administrative Court within 24 hours upon receipt of the decision.
(3) The Administrative Court shall decide on the lawsuit within 24 hours from having
received the appeal.
(4) The lawsuit referred to in paragraph (2) of this article shall be submitted through the
State Election Commission, and postal delivery of the lawsuit shall not be permitted.

19.4 Publishing the lists

Article 142
The State Election Commission shall announce the verified lists in the “Official Gazette of the
Republic of Macedonia”, no later than the twenty-first day from the day elections are called.

19.5 Electoral campaign

Article 143
The electoral campaigns shall commence on the twenty second day from the day elections are
called and shall end 24 hours before Election Day.

Article 144
(Deleted)
 73 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 145
(Deleted)

19.6 Publishing the descriptions of the polling stations

Article 146
(1) The State Election Commission shall submit a copy of the decision on determining
the number and the description of every polling station, to the Municipal Election
Commission, no later than ten days prior to Election Day.
(2) The Municipal Election Commission shall, no later than five days prior to Election
Day, display at a visible location the descriptions of the determined polling stations,
thus indicating which polling stations are designated for voters from a particular area.

VIII PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE

Article 147
(1) The procedure for the protection of the right to vote is urgent.
(2) The submissions (complaints and appeals) for the protection of the right to vote shall
be submitted directly to the competent bodies via the institutions that have made the
previous decisions.
(3) The complaints shall be submitted in writing and shall incorporate:
 time, place, description of the committed irregularity, the perpetrator and the
evidence the submitter calls upon;
 name, surname and a signature of the submitter of the complaint and the
official representative, and
 electronic mailbox for receiving correspondence.
(4) Submitting a complaint and lawsuit by post shall not be permitted.
(5) The complaints may also be submitted on separate templates, prescribed by the
State Election Commission, which are published in the “Official Gazette of the
Republic of Macedonia” and on the website of the State Election Commission.
(6) Filing of complaints and appeals for out-of-country voting is not permitted via regular
mail, but via email, in person, or via authorized representative.
(7) The decisions of the Administrative Court are final and against them no appeal or
other form of legal protection may be submitted, except in cases determined with this
Code.

20. Procedure for protection of the right to vote of the list submitters

Article 148
(1) Each submitter of a list of candidates in the procedure for voting, tabulating and
determining the results has the right to submit a complaint to the State Election
Commission.
(2) The complaint from paragraph (1) of this article shall be submitted within 48 hours
after the end of the voting, i.e. after the preliminary results are announced.
(3) The State Election Commission shall decide on the complaint within 48 hours from
having received it.
(4) The decision from paragraph (3) of this article shall be delivered through the
electronic mailbox for receiving correspondence and the decision shall be considered
as delivered within five hours after it has been delivered in the electronic mailbox.
(5) A lawsuit against the decision of the State Election Commission may be submitted
before the Administrative Court by the submitter, within 24 hours from the receiving
of the decision.
CDL-REF(2016)020 74

(6) The lawsuit to the Administrative Court shall be based on the allegations listed in the
complaint on which the first instance decision was adopted.

21. Procedure for protection of the voters right to vote

Article 149
(1) Every voter whose individual voting right has been violated in the election procedure
may submit a complaint to the State Election Commission within 24 hours.
(2) Every voter whose election right was violated in the procedure for out-of-country
individual voting right may submit complaint to the State Election Commission within
24 hours, through express mail and time of handing over the shipment shall be
considered as a time of submission of the complaint.
(3) The first instance organ shall be obliged to make a decision upon the complaint
within 4 hours from having received it.
(4) Against the decision made by the first instance organ, i.e. the State Election
Commission, lawsuit may be submitted before the Administrative Court within 24
hours from having received the decision.
(5) If the decision of paragraph (2) refers to the certain action of the Election Board and
the voting process is still ongoing, the voter shall be enabled to exercise his/her
voting rights.
Article 149-а
j. Every voter whose individual voting right has been violated, in every stage of the
electoral process, may submit a complaint to the State Election Commission,
within 24 hours.
k. Every voter whose individual voting right has been violated abroad, in every
stage of the electoral process, may submit a complaint to the State Election
Commission within 24 hours of the day of the violation, via electronic or express
mail, and the time for filing the complaint shall be counted from the time of
handing over the shipment.
l. The organ in first instance is required to reach a decision within 4 hours of the
receipt of the complaint.
m. Appeal against the decision of the State Election Commission may be filed
before the Administrative Court, within 24 hours of the receipt of the decision.“

21.1 The decision-making procedure of the Administrative Court

Article 150
(1) Upon the appeals of Articles 148, and 149 and 149–а of this Code the Administrative
Court shall decide in a panel of 5 judges, selected by drawing of lots, at a public
session, following a previous notification of the public and the authorized
representatives whose appeals are subject to adjudication
(2) The Administrative Court is required to reach a decision within 48 hours of receipt of
the appeal and to publish it on its webpage within 24 hours. The published decisions
will contain the manner of voting of each judge separately.
(3) The Administrative Court may confirm or change the decision.
(4) Decisions related to complaints and lawsuits shall, as they are adopted, be published
on the website of the Administrative Court, the State Election Commission, the
Municipal Election Commissions and the Election Commission of the City of Skopje
and in another appropriate manner.
 75 CDL-REF(2016)020

IX. ANNULMENT AND REPETITION OF VOTING

Article 151
(1) The State Election Commission, ex officio or based on a filed complaint, shall with a
decision annul the voting at the polling station in the following cases:
 if the Election Board fails to conduct the voting in the manner defined by this
Code;
 if the secrecy of voting has been violated;
 if the voting has been suspended for more than three hours;
 if the police has failed to respond to the request for intervention made by the
Election Board, provided there was a need for such intervention and that this
has influenced the conduct of the voting in the polling station;
 in case it has been established that there is a greater number of ballots in the
ballot box than the number of voter turnout; and
 if any person or persons have voted for other persons.
(2) When deciding upon complaints the State Election Commission is obliged to inspect
the overall election material in the cases stipulated in the lines 1, 2, 5 and 6 of
paragraph (1) of this article, if the facts which are invoked have been entered in the
protocol.
(3) The State Election Commission shall repeat the voting with a decision in cases
stipulated in paragraph (1) of this article at the polling stations where the voting has
been annulled, if the total number of voters registered at those polling stations on the
level of electoral district, city, i.e. municipality has an impact on the overall results.
(4) A lawsuit against the decision from paragraphs (1) and (2) of this article may be
submitted to the Administrative Court through the State Election Commission within
24 hours from the receipt of the decision.
(5) The Administrative Court must act on the lawsuit within 48 hours of its receipt.
(6) The voting at the polling station that has been annulled shall be repeated 14 days
from Election Day.

X. REPEATED ELECTIONS

22. Termination of the mandate and additional elections for Members of Parliament

Article 152
(1) The mandate of a Member of Parliament shall terminate before the period for which
he/she has been elected if
 he/she resigns;
 he/she is sentenced for a criminal offence for which a sentence of at least five
years is prescribed;
 there is incompatibility with the office of Member of Parliament;
 he/she dies;
 he/she is declared as not being able-bodied by an effective decision.
(2) If the Member of Parliament resigns, the Parliament at its next session shall
determine that his/her mandate terminates from the day that session is held.
(3) The mandate of a Member of Parliament shall terminate on the day the conditions
from paragraph (1), line 2, 3, 4, 5, of this article are fulfilled, which is determined by
the Parliament at the first following session.
CDL-REF(2016)020 76

Article 153
(1) If the mandate of the candidate elected from the list of candidates terminates,
pursuant to one of the grounds defined in article 152 of this Code, the next candidate
on the list shall become Member of Parliament for the remaining duration of the
mandate.
(2) The State Election Commission shall notify the next candidate on the list in the cases
referred to paragraph (1) of this article within three days of the termination of the
mandate.
(3) If the following candidate on the list from paragraph (2) of this article does not notify
the State Election Commission within eight days whether he/she accepts the
mandate, this right shall be transferred to the next candidate on the list.
(4) In case when the list of candidates has been exhausted in accordance with the
provisions in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this article, realisation of this right shall
commence again from the very start of the list of candidates, if there are any on the
list.

Article 153-а
a. As an exception to article 153 of this Code, if the Member of Parliament whose
mandate has been terminated pursuant to one of the grounds defined in article
152 of this Code is female, then the next female candidate on the list shall
become a Member of Parliament for the remaining duration of the mandate.
b. The State Election Commission shall notify the next female candidate on the list
in the cases from paragraph (1) of this article within three days of the termination
of the mandate of the Member of Parliament.
c. If the candidate from paragraph (2) of this article fails to notify the State Election
Commission within the eight days whether she accepts the mandate, this right
shall be transferred to the next female candidate on the list.
d. In case when the list of candidates has been exhausted in accordance with
paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this article, this right shall be fulfilled in accordance
with article 155 of this Code.

Article 154
(1) If the list of candidates has no candidates and if the grounds for acquiring the
mandate of Member of Parliament as determined in article 153 of this Code are
exhausted, additional elections are called for Members of Parliament in the electoral
district where the Member of Parliament was originally elected.
(2) If the mandate of the member of the Parliament who has been elected from the list of
candidates in the three electoral districts in Europe and Asia, 2 North and South
America and Australia and Asia has been terminated in accordance with one of the
conditions stipulated in article 152 of this Code, additional elections for member of
the Parliament shall be announced in the electoral district from which the member
was elected.

23. Termination, revoke of the mandate and additional elections for Member of
Council and Mayor

Article 155
(1) If the mandate of a Member of Council terminates or is revoked, pursuant to one of
the grounds defined in the Law on Local Self-Government and in this Code, then the
2
A corrigendum shall be needed; apparently, in the amendments a mistake was made. Instead of Europe and Asia,
should be Europe and Africa.
 77 CDL-REF(2016)020

next candidate on the list shall become municipal councillor for the remaining
duration of the mandate.
(2) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall notify the next candidate on the list in the cases from paragraph (1) of
this article within three days of the termination of the mandate of the Member of
Council.
(3) Within 8 days from the day of receipt of the notification from paragraph (2) of this
article, the candidate from paragraph (1) of this article shall be obliged to notify, in
written form, the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the
City of Skopje whether he/she accepts the mandate.
(4) If the candidate, pursuant to paragraph (3) of this article, does not accept the
mandate, this right shall be transferred to the next candidate on the list.

Article 155-а
(1) As an exception to Article 155 of this Code, if the member of council whose mandate
has been terminated or revoked pursuant to one of the grounds defined in the Law on
Local Self-Government and in this Code is female, the next female candidate on the
list shall become a municipal councillor for the remaining duration of the mandate.
(2) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje
shall notify the next female candidate on the list in the cases from paragraph (1) of this
article within three days of the termination of the mandate of the Member of Council .
(3) If the candidate from paragraph (2) of this article fails to notify the Municipal Election
Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje within the eight days
whether she accepts the mandate, this right shall be transferred to the next female
candidate on the list.
(4) In case when the list of candidates has been exhausted in accordance with
paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this article, this right shall be fulfilled in accordance with
Article 155 of this Code.

Article 156
(1) In case when the list of candidates, in accordance with article 155, is exhausted, the
realisation of this right shall commence again from the very start of the list of
candidates, if there are any on the list.
(2) If there are no candidates on the list of candidates and if the conditions for acquiring
the mandate as Members of Council have been exhausted, additional elections for
municipal councillors and members of the council of the City of Skopje shall be
conducted.
(3) The additional elections shall be announced by the Parliament of the Republic of
Macedonia within 15 days from the day the mandate is revoked.

24. Elections for substituting Members of Councils

Article 157
(1) If an effective court decision establishes that during the election a political party,
coalition or a group of voters, used bribe and means acquired through criminal acts
to win votes, the mandates won by this political party, coalition i.e. group of voters,
shall be annulled by the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission
of the City of Skopje and replacement elections shall be conducted for these
mandates.
(2) Replacement elections may not be called six months before the end of the mandate
for which the council was elected.
CDL-REF(2016)020 78

(3) The mandate of a Member of Council, pursuant to paragraph (1) of this article, i.e.
elected at replacement elections, shall last until the end of the mandate of the
municipal councillor whose mandate was terminated i.e. revoked.
(4) The replacement election shall be called by the President of the Parliament upon
suggestion of the competent Municipal Election Commission.

25. Early elections of Mayor and Members of Councils

Article 158
(1) If a mandate of a Mayor is terminated due to one of the reasons stipulated in the Law
on Local Self-Government and in this Code and if the Mayor receives a non-
confidence vote in accordance with the Law early elections for Mayor shall be called.
(2) If less than six months remain until the regular elections for Mayor, the early
elections of paragraph (1) of this article shall not be called.

Article 159
Early elections for Members of Council shall be called before the end of the mandate, if one of
the conditions stipulated in the Law on Local Self-Government and in this Code takes place.

26. Repeated election of Members of Councils

Article 160
If the session of the council does not take place until the thirty-first day from the day the
elections are completed, in accordance with article 37, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Law on
Local Self-Government, repeated elections for Member of Council shall take place, which shall
be called by the President of the Parliament.

XI. ELECTION OBSERVATION

Article 161
(1) Elections and election procedures may be observed by:
 domestic associations and foreign organisations registered according to the
Law, at least one year before the Election Day and in whose statutes the
principle of protection of human rights is incorporated ;
 international organisations; and
 representatives of foreign countries.
(2) The State Election Commission shall determine the procedure for observing the
elections and the electoral procedure.

Article 162
(1) Upon obtaining accreditation from the State Election Commission, the organisations
and persons from article 161 of this Code may observe the entire election process.
(2) Applications for observation, together with the required identification documents,
shall be submitted to the State Election Commission from the day elections are
called, but not later than 10 days prior to Election Day.
(3) The State Election Commission shall issue accreditation to the observers no later
than seven days from the day the application is received.
(4) The State Election Commission has the right to revoke the observation accreditation
from the entities referred to in article 161 of this Code, if they start expressing
support for a candidate, party, or a coalition.
 79 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 162-a
Only accredited observers can report on the course of the electoral process and the related
observation activities.

XII. POLLING STATIONS

Article 163
Under this Code, a polling station shall be considered the inhabited place or part of inhabited
place where the voters from that area exercise their right to vote.

27. Criteria for determining polling stations

Article 164
(1) The polling stations shall be determined for inhabited places or parts of inhabited
places that have voters entered in the excerpts of the Voters List for those inhabited
places or parts of the inhabited places.
(2) The polling stations shall be within the boundaries of the municipality.
(3) For the out-of-country voting within the DCO, i.e. consular offices of the Republic of
Macedonia, special polling stations shall be determined.

Article 165
(1) The number of voters voting in the polling station shall be determined in a manner
that shall enable unimpeded voting during the voting time.
(2) The number of voters voting at a polling place cannot be higher than 1,000 voters.
(3) A polling station may not be established for an inhabited place that has less than 10
voters and in a DCO, i.e. consular offices where less than 10 voters are registered to
vote.

Article 166
(1) As a rule, the polling station shall be located no more than 3 km away from the
furthest address in urban inhabited places and no more than 5 km in the rural
inhabited places.
(2) The rule determined in the paragraph (1) of this article shall not apply for the polling
stations in the DCO, i.e. consular offices.

28. Procedure for determining, changing and announcing polling stations

Article 167
The State Election Commission, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the body in
charge of affairs in the area of urban planning and construction, the body in charge of land
surveying and cadastre and the administrative organisation in charge of statistical affairs and
organisational-technical and methodological processing of the data in the Voters List, prepares
the administrative-technical descriptions of the polling stations. The administrative-technical
description of the polling stations contains: municipality, number of electoral district, number of
polling station, inhabited area and location of the polling station (facility and address of the
facility where the voting will be conducted, inhabited area), whether the polling station is an
entire inhabited area, street (name), indicator of division and house number (from – to).

Article 168
(1) Based on the administrative-technical descriptions of the polling stations prepared in
accordance with article 167 of this Code, the State Election Commission will reach a
decision determining the number and description for each polling station separately,
CDL-REF(2016)020 80

by pointing out the inhabited areas, i.e. streets and house numbers included in the
polling stations and the voting facility.

Article 169
(1) The change of the description of the polling station shall be done when changing the
names of the streets or house numbers and if the number of voters or the distance
from the polling station increase.
(2) The State Election Commission adopts a decision determining the change of the
description of the polling station.
(3) The changes in the description of the polling stations may be conducted no later than
30 days prior to Election Day or the day of holding a Referendum.

Article 170
(1) The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje shall, no later than 15 days prior to Election Day i.e. the day of holding a
Referendum, shall affix on a visible location the descriptions of the polling stations
that have been selected for voting, marking the allocation of voters per polling
station, according to area where the voter resides.
(2) The announcement of the descriptions of the polling stations may also be conducted
through the local media.
(3) The State Election Commission shall be obliged to inform the citizens by publishing
the descriptions of the polling stations in the press and the other means that provide
information to the public.

29. Conditions for functioning of polling stations

Article 171
(1) Each polling station has an ordinal number.
(2) The ordinal number of the polling station is displayed on the facility where voting for
that particular polling station takes place; if voting for two or more polling stations is
conducted in the same facility, on the outer walls of the facility, with the ordinal
number of the polling station, every room that is selected for voting in that polling
station is clearly indicated.

Article 172
The premises in which the voting takes place cannot be selected in a facility where offices of a
political party are located or which is used for activities of political parties.

Article 173
(1) The voting takes place in a closed room that fulfils the conditions for the individual,
free and secret voting of the voters.
(2) The names of the inhabited places and parts of the inhabited places (streets and
parts of streets) that are covered by the polling station are displayed in the room
where the voting takes place.
(3) The room selected for voting is equipped with booths i.e. partitions or curtains so that
it cannot be seen how the voter marks the ballot.
(4) Every polling booth must be equipped with a pen for the needs of the voters.
(5) Transparent ballot boxes made from a hard material are placed in the room for voting
and those are transferred to the Election Boards sealed with a protocol.
(6) The rooms selected for voting must be administratively-technically equipped in order
to be able to be locked and sealed.
 81 CDL-REF(2016)020

XIII. ELECTORAL DISTRICTS FOR ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OF THE

REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Article 174
(1) Electoral districts comprise (contain) of the polling stations within the municipal
borders where the citizens exercise their right to vote.
(2) The out-of-country electoral district is comprised of polling stations, i.e. DCO, within
the electoral district where the citizens exercise their voting right, in line with this
Code.

Article 175
(1) There are seven electoral districts in the Republic of Macedonia:
ELECTORAL DISTRICT 1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2592 to 2653

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2593/1 to 2593/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2597/1 to 2597/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2601/1 to 2601/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2614/1 to 2614/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2617/1 to 2618/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2626/1 to 2626/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2644/1 to 2644/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2649/1 to 2649/1

Municipality Karposh polling stations from 2651/1 to 2653/1

Municipality Kisela Voda polling stations from 2425 to 2427

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2425/1 to 2426/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2654 to 2672

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2667/1 to 2667/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2669/1 to 2669/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2671/1 to 2671/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2739 to 2751

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2748/1 to 2748/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2751/1 to 2751/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2761 to 2771

Municipality Kisela Voda polling stations from 2762/1 to 2762/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 82

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2774 to 2795

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2781/1 to 2782/1

Municipality Kisela Voda polling stations from 2784/1 to 2784/1

Municipality Kisela Voda polling stations from 2789/1 to 2789/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2793/1 to 2793/1

Municipality Кisela Voda polling stations from 2795/1 to 2795/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2796 to 2818

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2796/1 to 2797/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2805/1 to 2806/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2822 to 2822

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2828 to 2828

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2830 to 2868

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2842/1 to 2844/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2847/1 to 2847/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2861/1 to 2861/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2867/1 to 2867/1

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2870 to 2871

Municipality Centar polling stations from 2870/1 to 2871/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2819 to 2821

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2819/1 to 2819/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2823 to 2827

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2826/1 to 2826/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2829 to 2829

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2829/1 to 2829/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2869 to 2869

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2869/1 to 2869/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2872 to 2898

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2873/1 to 2874/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2876/1 to 2877/1

 83 CDL-REF(2016)020

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2884/1 to 2884/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2886/1 to 2889/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2893/1 to 2893/1

Municipality Аеrodrom polling stations from 2673 to 2738

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2679/1 to 2680/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2682/1 to 2684/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2714/1 to 2717/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2719/1 to 2721/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2730/1 to 2730/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2732/1 to 2733/1

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2752 to 2760

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2772 to 2773

Municipality Aerodrom polling stations from 2772/1 to 2772/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2428 to 2461

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2428/1 to 2428/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2430/1 to 2431/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2433/1 to 2435/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2438/1 to 2438/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2447/1 to 2447/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2451/1 to 2452/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2458/1 to 2458/1

Municipality Saraj polling stations from 2460/1 to 2460/1

Municipality Мakedonski Brod polling stations from 0224 to 0274

Municipality Мakedonski Brod polling stations from 0247/1 to 0248/1

Municipality Sopishte polling stations from 2412 to 2424

Municipality Sopishte polling stations from 2423/1 to 2423/1

Municipality Studenichani polling stations from 2341 to 2361

Municipality Studenichani polling stations from 2341/1 to 2341/1

Municipality Studenichani polling stations from 2345/1 to 2351/1

Municipality Studenichani polling stations from 2353/1 to 2353/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 84

Municipality Studenichani polling stations from 2359/1 to 2359/1

ELECTORAL DISTRICT 2

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2332 to 2332

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2476 to 2552

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2476/1 to 2476/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2493/1 to 2493/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2499/1 to 2499/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2503/1 to 2503/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2507/1 to 2507/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2509/1 to 2511/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2514/1 to 2515/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2531/1 to 2531/1

Municipality Gazi Baba polling stations from 2538/1 to 2540/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2553 to 2591

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2553/1 to 2554/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2560/1 to 2560/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2571/1 to 2572/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2574/1 to 2574/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2576/1 to 2576/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2579/1 to 2582/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2587/1 to 2588/1

Municipality Gjorche Petrov polling stations from 2590/1 to 2590/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2899 to 2903

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2900/1 to 2900/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2916 to 2917

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2916/1 to 2917/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2922 to 2922

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2922/1 to 2922/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2924 to 2928

 85 CDL-REF(2016)020

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2934 to 2945

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2934/1 to 2937/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2939/1 to 2939/1

Municipality Chair polling stations from 2941/1 to 2941/1

Municipality Shuto Orizari polling stations from 2955 to 2973

Municipality Shuto Orizari polling stations from 2955/1 to 2967/1

Municipality Shuto Orizari polling stations from 2969/1 to 2972/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2904 to 2915

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2904/1 to 2905/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2907/1 to 2907/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2909/1 to 2909/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2911/1 to 2911/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2914/1 to 2915/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2918 to 2921

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2918/1 to 2921/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2923 to 2923

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2929 to 2933

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2946 to 2954

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2948/1 to 2948/1

Municipality Butel polling stations from 2950/1 to 2951/1

Municipality Аrachinovo polling stations from 2333 to 2340

Municipality Аrachinovo polling stations from 2333/1 to 2337/1

Municipality Кumanovo polling stations from 0995 to 1104

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 0995/1 to 0995/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1000/1 to 1001/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1006/1 to 1006/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1008/1 to 1011/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1013/1 to 1014/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1017/1 to 1017/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1020/1 to 1020/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 86

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1026/1 to 1026/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1040/1 to 1042/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1047/1 to 1051/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1055/1 to 1055/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1057/1 to 1061/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1064/1 to 1064/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1078/1 to 1080/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1086/1 to 1087/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1091/1 to 1091/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1097/1 to 1098/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1101/1 to 1103/1

Municipality Lipkovo polling stations from 1105 to 1130

Municipality Lipkovo polling stations from 1111/1 to 1113/1

Municipality Lipkovo polling stations from 1119/1 to 1121/1

Municipality Lipkovo polling stations from 1125/1 to 1125/1

Municipality Lipkovo polling stations from 1128/1 to 1130/1

Municipality Staro Nagorichane polling stations from 1156 to 1186

Municipality Chucher – Sandevo polling stations from 2462 to 2475

ELECTORAL DISTRICT 3
Municipality Berovo polling stations from 0001 to 0016

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2135 to 2203

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2138/1 to 2138/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2143/1 to 2144/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2146/1 to 2146/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2153/1 to 2153/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2159/1 to 2159/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2170/1 to 2170/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2172/1 to 2173/1

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2201/1 to 2201/1

 87 CDL-REF(2016)020

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2207 to 2210

Municipality Veles polling stations from 2210/1 to 2210/1

Municipality Vinica polling stations from 0303 to 0332

Municipality Vinica polling stations from 0310/1 to 0311/1

Municipality Vinica polling stations from 0315/1 to 0315/1

Municipality Gradsko polling stations from 2217 to 2226

Municipality Gradsko polling stations from 2219/1 to 2219/1

Municipality Delchevo polling stations from 0572 to 0604

Municipality Delchevo polling stations from 0577/1 to 0577/1

Municipality Delchevo polling stations from 0582/1 to 0583/1

Municipality Zelenikovo polling stations from 2362 to 2376

Municipality Zrnovci polling stations from 0888 to 0891

Municipality Ilinden polling stations from 2393 to 2411

Municipality Ilinden polling stations from 2393/1 to 2397/1

Municipality Ilinden polling stations from 2399/1 to 2399/1

Municipality Karbinci polling stations from 2316 to 2331

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0830 to 0874

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0834/1 to 0834/1

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0836/1 to 0838/1

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0857/1 to 0857/1

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0860/1 to 0861/1

Municipality Kochani polling stations from 0892 to 0902

Municipality Kratovo polling stations from 0903 to 0937

Municipality Kratovo polling stations from 0931/1 to 0932/1

Municipality Kriva Palanka polling stations from 0938 to 0981

Municipality Kriva Palanka polling stations from 0945/1 to 0947/1

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1131 to 1141

Municipality Kumanovo polling stations from 1144 to 1150

Municipality Lozovo polling stations from 1704 to 1712

CDL-REF(2016)020 88

Municipality Makedonska Kamenica polling stations from 0605 to 0618

Municipality Makedonska Kamenica polling stations from 0610/1 to 0612/1

Municipality Petrovec polling stations from 2377 to 2392

Municipality Petrovec polling stations from 2377/1 to 2378/1

Municipality Petrovec polling stations from 2382/1 to 2382/1

Municipality Pehchevo polling stations from 0017 to 0025

Municipality Probishtip polling stations from 1530 to 1573

Municipality Probishtip polling stations from 1539/1 to 1539/1

Municipality Probishtip polling stations from 1566/1 to 1566/1

Municipality Rankovce polling stations from 0982 to 0994

Municipality Sveti Nikole polling stations from 1671 to 1703

Municipality Sveti Nikole polling stations from 1675/1 to 1675/1

Municipality Sveti Nikole polling stations from 1684/1 to 1684/1

Municipality Staro Nagorichane polling stations from 1142 to 1143

Municipality Staro Nagorichane polling stations from 1151 to 1155

Municipality Chashka polling stations from 2204 to 2206

Municipality Chashka polling stations from 2205/1 to 2205/1

Municipality Chashka polling stations from 2211 to 2216

Municipality Chashka polling stations from 2227 to 2246

Municipality Chashka polling stations from 2234/1 to 2234/1

Municipality Cheshinovo – Obleshevo polling stations from 0875 to 0887

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2247 to 2315

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2247/1 to 2250/1

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2255/1 to 2255/1

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2268/1 to 2271/1

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2280/1 to 2280/1

Municipality Shtip polling stations from 2294/1 to 2294/1

 89 CDL-REF(2016)020

ELECTORAL DISTRICT 4

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0194 to 0204

Municipality Bogdanci polling stations from 0368 to 0377

Municipality Bogdanci polling stations from 0371/1 to 0371/1

Municipality Bogdanci polling stations from 0376/1 to 0376/1

Municipality Bosilovo polling stations from 1811 to 1826

Municipality Bosilovo polling stations from 1824/1 to 1824/1

Municipality Bosilovo polling stations from 1842 to 1843

Municipality Valandovo polling stations from 0280 to 0302

Municipality Valandovo polling stations from 284/1 to 284/1

Municipality Vasilevo polling stations from 1794 to 1810

Municipality Vasilevo polling stations from 1800/1 to 1800/1

Municipality Vasilevo polling stations from 1804/1 to 1804/1

Municipality Gevgelija polling stations from 0333 to 0367

Municipality Gevgelija polling stations from 0349/1 to 0350/1

Municipality Demir Kapija polling stations from 1238 to 1248

Municipality Kavadarci polling stations from 0659 to 0712

Municipality Kavadarci polling stations from 0660/1 to 0660/1

Municipality Kavadarci polling stations from 0668/1 to 0668/1

Municipality Kavadarci polling stations from 0672/1 to 0674/1

Municipality Kavadarci polling stations from 0684/1 to 0684/1

Municipality Konche polling stations from 1608 to 1617

Municipality Krivogashtani polling stations from 1508 to 1519

Municipality Mogila polling stations from 0181 to 0193

Municipality Моgila polling stations from 0214 to 0223

Municipality Negotino polling stations from 1213 to 1237

Municipality Negotino polling stations from 1216/1 to 1216/1

Municipality Negotino polling stations from 1221/1 to 1221/1

Municipality Negotino polling stations from 1223/1 to 1223/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 90

Municipality Novaci polling stations from 0158 to 0180

Municipality Novaci polling stations from 0161/1 to 0161/1

Municipality Novo Selo polling stations from 1774 to 1792

Municipality Novo Selo polling stations from 1791/1 to 1791/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1350 to 1457

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1367/1 to 1367/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1374/1 to 1375/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1380/1 to 1380/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1385/1 to 1385/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1387/1 to 1387/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1392/1 to 1392/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1400/1 to 1400/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1402/1 to 1402/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1456/1 to 1456/1

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1494 to 1507

Municipality Prilep polling stations from 1520 to 1529

Municipality Radovish polling stations from 1574 to 1607

Municipality Radovish polling stations from 1578/1 to 1583/1

Municipality Radovish polling stations from 1618 to 1623

Municipality Rosoman polling stations from 0713 to 0722

Municipality Dojran polling stations from 0378 to 0385

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1713 to 1773

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1720/1 to 1720/1

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1727/1 to 1728/1

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1730/1 to 1731/1

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1763/1 to 1763/1

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1793 to 1793

Municipality Strumica polling stations from 1827 to 1841

 91 CDL-REF(2016)020

ELECTORAL DISTRICT 5
Municipality Debar polling stations from 0549 to 0554

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0534 to 0542

Municipality Centar Zhupa polling stations from 0557 to 0571

Municipality Centar Zhupa polling stations from 0562/1 to 0562/1

Municipality Debarca polling stations from 1314 to 1334

Municipality Debarca polling stations from 1343 to 1349

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0026 to 0157

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0038/1 to 0040/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0066/1 to 0066/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0076/1 to 0076/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0089/1 to 0089/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0093/1 to 0094/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0102/1 to 0102/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0106/1 to 0106/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0119/1 to 0125/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0150/1 to 0150/1

Municipality Bitola polling stations from 0205 to 0213

Municipality Vevchani polling stations from 1921 to 1923

Municipality Demir Hisar polling stations from 0619 to 0658

Municipality Demir Hisar polling stations from 0623/1 to 0623/1

Municipality Dolneni polling stations from 1209 to 1211

Municipality Dolneni polling stations from 1458 to 1493

Municipality Dolneni polling stations from 1470/1 to 1470/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0723 to 0757

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0726/1 to 0726/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0733/1 to 0733/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0736/1 to 0739/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0745/1 to 0745/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 92

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0751/1 to 0752/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0758 to 0781

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0802 to 0813

Municipality Кrivogashtani polling stations from 1212 to 1212

Municipality Krushevo polling stations from 1187 to 1208

Municipality Krushevo polling stations from 1187/1 to 1187/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1249 to 1313

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1253/1 to 1255/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1258/1 to 1259/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1263/1 to 1264/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1268/1 to 1268/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1278/1 to 1278/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1281/1 to 1283/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1298/1 to 1298/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1308/1 to 1310/1

Municipality Ohrid polling stations from 1335 to 1342

Municipality Plasnica polling stations from 0275 to 0279

Municipality Plasnica polling stations from 0276/1 to 0279/1

Municipality Resen polling stations from 1624 to 1670

Municipality Resen polling stations from 1631/1 to 1631/1

Municipality Resen polling stations from 1638/1 to 1638/1

Municipality Resen polling stations from 1640/1 to 1640/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1844 to 1920

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1846/1 to 1846/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1848/1 to 1848/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1853/1 to 1853/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1858/1 to 1859/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1863/1 to 1863/1

 93 CDL-REF(2016)020

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1872/1 to 1873/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1875/1 to 1876/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1883/1 to 1884/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1895/1 to 1896/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1899/1 to 1899/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1905/1 to 1907/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1909/1 to 1910/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 1916/1 to 1918/1

Municipality Struga polling stations from 2976 to 2976

ELECTORAL DISTRICT 6

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2050 to 2079

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2050/1 to 2050/1

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2062/1 to 2062/1

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2065/1 to 2065/1

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2069/1 to 2071/1

Municipality Bogovinje polling stations from 2073/1 to 2074/1

Municipality Brvenica polling stations from 2032 to 2049

Municipality Brvenica polling stations from 2036/1 to 2040/1

Municipality Brvenica polling stations from 2049/1 to 2049/1

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0436 to 0462

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0436/1 to 0439/1

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0444/1 to 0445/1

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0447/1 to 0447/1

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0455/1 to 0458/1

Municipality Vrapchishte polling stations from 0461/1 to 0461/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0386 to 0435

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0387/1 to 0388/1

Municipality Gostivarpolling stations from 0396/1 to 0398/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 94

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0403/1 to 0403/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0406/1 to 0407/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0413/1 to 0413/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0419/1 to 0419/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0422/1 to 0422/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0424/1 to 0427/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0435/1 to 0435/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0480 to 0480

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0499 to 0533

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0499/1 to 0501/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0504/1 to 0508/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0510/1 to 0511/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0518/1 to 0519/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0521/1 to 0521/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0527/1 to 0528/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0531/1 to 0531/1

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 0782 to 0782

Municipality Gostivar polling stations from 2974 to 2975

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0477 to 0477

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0477/1 to 0477/1

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0543 to 0548

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0544/1 to 0544/1

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0547/1 to 0547/1

Municipality Debar polling stations from 0555 to 0556

Municipality Zhelino polling stations from 2089 to 2114

Municipality Zhelino polling stations from 2090/1 to 2091/1

Municipality Zhelino polling stations from 2106/1 to 2110/1

Municipality Zhelino polling stations from 2113/1 to 2114/1

 95 CDL-REF(2016)020

Municipality Jegunovce polling stations from 2115 to 2134

Municipality Jegunovce polling stations from 2132/1 to 2132/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0783 to 0801

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0783/1 to 0783/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0793/1 to 793/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0814 to 0829

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0816/1 to 0817/1

Municipality Kichevo polling stations from 0828/1 to 0828/1

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0463 to 0476

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0464/1 to 0465/1

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0470/1 to 0470/1

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0473/1 to 0474/1

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0478 to 0479

Municipality Mavrovo and Rostusha polling stations from 0481 to 0498

Municipality Теаrce polling stations from 2007 to 2031

Municipality Теаrce polling stations from 2021/1 to 2022/1

Municipality Теаrce polling stations from 2029/1 to 2031/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1924 to 2006

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1927/1 to 1932/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1939/1 to 1939/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1941/1 to 1942/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1954/1 to 1954/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1958/1 to 1958/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1968/1 to 1968/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1971/1 to 1973/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1981/1 to 1981/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1989/1 to 1994/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 1997/1 to 1997/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 2000/1 to 2000/1

CDL-REF(2016)020 96

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 2004/1 to 2004/1

Municipality Tetovo polling stations from 2080 to 2088

(2) For the purposes of voting for election of three Members of Parliament, one electoral district
shall be established:
- Electoral district no. 7, for voting of citizens of Republic of Macedonia who are
temporarily employed or residing in Europe, Asia, North and South America,
Australia and Africa, with the polling stations, i.e., DCO, in those countries;
- electoral district number 8 for the voting of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia
who temporarily work and reside in North and South America comprised of the
polling stations, i.e. DCO, i.e. consular offices in those countries; and
- electoral district number 9 for voting of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia
who temporarily work and reside in Australia and Asia comprised of the polling
stations, i.e. DCO, i.e. consular offices in those countries.

Article 176
If a polling station is altered in accordance with this Code, the voters from the new polling
station shall exercise their right to vote in the electoral district in which the polling station used to
belong.

Article 177
The State Election Commission shall, no later than 30 days prior to Election Day, publish the
descriptions of the polling stations determined with this Code.

XIV. PENAL AND MISDEMEANOR PROVISIONS

Article 177-a

e. Regardless of the misdemeanour liability for not complying with the provisions of
this Code related to limitation of expenses for the election campaign and
submission of financial reports for financing of election campaign to the
participant of election campaign shall be imposed:
 partial loss of compensation of expenses for the election campaign;
 complete loss of compensation of expenses for the election campaign; or
 suspension of compensation payment of expenses for the election
campaign.
f. Partial loss of compensation of expenses for the election campaign shall be
imposed to an participant of an election campaign in case when the permitted
amount of expenses for the election campaign is exceeded, pursuant to article 84
of this Code;
g. Partial loss of compensation of expenses for the election campaign as of
paragraph (2) of this article consists of reduction of the amount for compensation
of expenses for the election campaign for the amount exceeding the permitted
amount of costs and expenses for the election campaign. If the amount of funds
exceeding the permitted amount of costs for the election campaign is higher than
the amount for compensation of expenses for the election campaign, in such a
case, a complete loss of the right of compensation of expenses for the election
campaign shall be imposed.
 97 CDL-REF(2016)020

h. Suspension of payment of expenses for the election campaign shall be imposed

to the participant of election campaign in the cases when they do not submit the
financial report in the determined time framework and content, pursuant to article
84-b, paragraphs (1) and (2) and article 85 of this Code.
i. The suspension of payment of compensation of expenses for the election
campaign from paragraph (4) of this article shall last until the proper fulfilment of
determined obligation pursuant to article 84-b, paragraphs (1) and (2) and article
85 of this Code.
j. The decision for partial or complete loss of compensation of expenses for the
election campaign from paragraphs (2) and (3) of this article and the decision for
suspension of payment from paragraph (4) of this article shall be taken by the
State Election Commission upon a proposal by the State Audit Office.
k. The decision from paragraph (6) of this article is final, but an administrative
dispute may be initiated against it.
l. The decision, as of paragraph (7) of this article, shall be published in the “Official
Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.

Article 178
(1) For acts of preventing the elections and voting, violating and abusing the right to vote,
violating the voter’s freedom of choice, bribing during the elections and voting,
destroying electoral documents, for acting contrary to Article 8-a of this Code, and
committing electoral fraud, shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of the
Criminal Code.
(2) The attempt of the criminal acts of paragraph (1) of this Article is punishable; and
(3) For the criminal acts from paragraph (1) of this article, the procedure is urgent.

Article 178-a
For the misdemeanors stipulated in this Code, misdemeanor procedure shall be led and
misdemeanor sanction shall be pronounced by the respective court.

Article 179
(1) A fine of up to 1.000 to 2.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced for a
violation of a member of the Government, deputy-minister and a public office holder
who is a head of an organ, for actions contrary to Article 8-а of this Code.
In paragraphs (2) and (3) the words “500 to 1.500” shall be replaced with the words
“1.000 to 3.000;
(2) A fine in the amount from 500 to 1,500 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to a person for participating in election campaign while in official
uniform (article 9).A fine in the amount from 500 to 1,500 EUR in MKD equivalent for
a misdemeanour shall be imposed to a Member of Election Management Body
acting contrary to the provisions of this Code (article 19, paragraph (1)).

Article 179-a
(1) A fine of up to 2.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced to a registered
political party, coalition or an independent candidate for the use of Voter List data for
other purposes, or for registering voters on Election Day (Article 55, paragraphs (1)
and (4)).
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the political party, coalition or the
independent candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political
party, coalition or the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1)
of this Article.
CDL-REF(2016)020 98

Article 179-b
(1) A fine in the amount from 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall be
imposed to a legal entity for non-compliance with the deadline for commencing and
concluding the election campaign (article 69-a, paragraph (2)).
(2) A fine in the amount from 1.000 to 2.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be imposed to
the president and the members of the State Election Commission for failure to
proceed within the time period stipulated in article 69-a, paragraph (3) of this Code.
(3) A fine in the amount from 600 to 2.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to a physical person for obstructing or preventing the election
campaign (article 73).
(4) A fine in the amount from 1.000 to 2.000euro in MKD equivalent shall be imposed to
the president and the members of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption
for failure to proceed within the time period stipulated in article 74, paragraph (1) of
this Code.

Article 180
(1) A fine of up to 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced to registered
political party, coalition or an independent candidate for failure to comply with Article
72 of this Code.
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine for the political party, coalition or an
independent candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political
party, coalition or the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of
this Article.
Article 181
(1) A fine in the amount from 4.500 Euros in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall
be imposed to a broadcaster, if:
 it reports on the regular activities of the state bodies, the municipal bodies
and the bodies of the City of Skopje, and the legal entities that have been
entrusted with performing of public authorities, contrary to article 75-b of this
Law;
 editors, journalists, program hosts and presenters who are engaged in the
program preparation for the broadcaster, if they participate in the pre-
election activities of the election campaign participants contrary to article 75-
c of this Code;
 does not record the exit signal of the program from the day when elections
are called until their completion and does not keep the recordings from the
program (article 75- d, paragraph (1));
 does not submit the recordings and other data related to the media coverage
for the elections, contrary to article 75-d paragraph (2);
 notices and announcements for independent candidates are broadcast
contrary to article 75-e, paragraph (3);
 the public broadcasting service shall broadcast free political presentation of
the participants in the election process and acts contrary to Article 76-а,
paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11) and (12) of this Code;
 the public broadcasting service does not inform the citizens and people with
impaired hearing about the election process (article 76-а, paragraph (1) and
(4)); and
 the public broadcasting service broadcasts free of charge political
presentation of the participants in the election process, which is contrary to
article 76-а, paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this Code.
 99 CDL-REF(2016)020

(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the broadcaster shall be pronounced to
the responsible person of the broadcaster for misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this
Article.

Article 181-a
(1) A fine in the amount from 8.000 Euros in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall
be imposed to the broadcaster, printed media and electronic media (internet portals)
if:
 the coverage of elections is not done in a fair, balanced and unbiased
manner (article 75, paragraph (1));
 does not provide equal conditions for access to the programs for all
organizers of election campaign (article 75, paragraphs (2) and (3));
 programs aimed for juvenile audience are used for electoral media
presentation (article 75, paragraph (3));
 -if in any way finance or give donations to political parties (Article 75,
paragraph 4);
 -act contrary to Article 75-f of this Code.
(2) A fine of up to 800 to 1.200 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced to the
official person who had approved the use of means from the Budget of Republic of
Macedonia, or the budgets of municipalities and the City of Skopje, for paid political
advertising during the election campaign; and
(3) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the broadcaster, printed media and
electronic media (internet portals) shall be pronounced to the responsible person of
the broadcaster, printed media and electronic media (internet portals) for the
misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 182
(1) A fine of up to 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced for a
misdemeanor to a broadcaster, printed media and electronic media (internet portal),
if:
 they broadcast, i.e. publish paid political advertising contrary to article 75-e,
paragraph (1) of this Code;
 the notices and announcements for independent candidates contain data
contrary to article 75-e, paragraph (3) of this Code;
 broadcast, i.e. publish announcements and advertisements contrary to
article 75-e, paragraph (6) of this Code;
 they do not determine the pricelist for the political advertising of the
participants in the election process (article 75-f, paragraph (2));
 they do not announce and/or submit the pricelist (article 75-f, paragraph (3)
and (4));
 they change the pricelist during the election campaign (article 75-f,
paragraph (5));
 regular pricelists for paid political advertising are not used during the election
campaign whereby the price per second for paid political advertising
exceeds the average price of advertising calculated in the 3 months
preceding the day of calling elections (Article 75-f paragraph(6))“.
 does not provide equal access in accordance with article 75-f, paragraph (7)
of this Code, and
 violate the election silence (article 76-b).
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the broadcaster, the printed media and
the electronic media (internet portal) shall be pronounced to the responsible person
CDL-REF(2016)020 100

of the broadcaster, printed media and the electronic media (internet portal), for the
misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 183
(1) A fine in the amount from 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall be
imposed to the broadcaster if it:
 broadcasts the election advertising without referring to it as paid political
advertising and without separating it from other programmatic contents (article
76, paragraph (1));
 does not make clear indication of who is the orderer of the paid political
advertising (article 76, paragraph (2));
 broadcasts election advertising involving minors in paid political advertising
(article 76, paragraph (3)), and
 broadcasts paid political advertising in news, information, education and
children programmes and during live coverage of religious, sport, cultural and
other events (article 76, paragraph (4));
 broadcasts free political presentation in their programmes as of the day of
calling elections until their completion (Article 76, paragraph 8)
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the broadcaster shall be pronounced to
the responsible person of the broadcaster for the misdemeanor in paragraph (1) of
this Article.

Article 183-a
(1) A fine of up to 4.500 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be pronounced for a misdemeanor
to a broadcaster, printed media and electronic media (internet portal), if:
 results of the opinion poll are announced contrary to article 77, paragraph (1)
of this Code;
 results of the opinion poll are announced, and the data specified in article 77,
paragraph (2) of this Code are not stated; and
 results of the opinion poll carried out on the day of voting are announced
contrary to article 77, paragraph (3) of this Code.
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to a broadcaster, printed media and
electronic media (internet portal), shall be pronounced to the responsible person of
the broadcaster, printed media and electronic media (internet portal), for the
misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 184
(1) A fine in the amount from 1.000 to 3.000 EUR in MKD equivalent shall be imposed
to the the mayor from a municipality, i.e. the City of Skopje for failing to determine
places for displaying posters free of charge, and for not marking them for each list
submitter separately (article 78).
(2) A fine of up to 1.000 to 3.000 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced to the
mayor of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia and the City of Skopje, for
actions contrary to Article 78-а, paragraphs (4) and (5) of this Code.
(3) A fine of up to 5.000 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced to the legal
entities which manage the advertising panels and billboards, for acttions contrary to
Article 78-а, paragraphs (4) and (5) of this Code.
(4) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the legal entity shall be pronounced to
the responsible person in the legal entity of paragraph (3) of this Article.
 101 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 185
(1) A fine of up to 2.500 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced to a registered
political party, coalition, or an independent candidate for failure to remove the remains
of the posters in the deadline determined in Article 79 paragraph (2) of this Code.
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the political party, coalition, or
independent candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political
party, coalition or the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of
this Article.

Article 186
A fine in the amount from 1.000 to 2.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for misdemeanour shall be
imposed to a person destroying or affixing election posters over the posters of other election
campaign participant on the locations designated for their display receive (article 78, paragraph
(1)).

Article 187
(1) A fine in the amount from 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for misdemeanour shall be
imposed to a political party, coalition, independent candidate who:
 failing to report an election rally at least 48 hours prior to its holding; and
 organising a rally contrary to articles 81 and 82 of this Code.
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the political party, coalition or the independent
candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political party, coalition or
the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 188
A fine in the amount from 450 to 1.200 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall be
imposed to the the public office holder or the person in charge of a competent state body,
religious community or public institution who will allow the election campaign participant to
organise pre-election rallies contrary to article 82 of this Code.

Article 188-a
(1) A fine of up to 9.000 EUR in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced for a misdemeanor to
a political party, coalition or an independent candidate for failure to return the unspent
donations in the prescribed deadline to the donors, proportionally to the donated
amount, in case of non-submission or non-verification of the list of candidates (Article
71, paragraph 7).
(2) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the political party, coalition or the
independent candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political
party, coalition or the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of
this Article.
(3) A fine of up to 900 to 1.350 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced to a person
with an intention to run as a candidate, for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) of this
Article.
Article 189
(1) A fine of up to 9.000 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced for a misdemeanor
to a political party, coalition or the independent candidate for failure to submit a
campaign financing report of Article 85 of this Code, or for use of means for campaign
financing in line with the Article 83 of this Code.
(2) A fine in the amount from 9.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall be
imposed to a political party, coalition or a independent candidate for spending more
funds during the election campaign than the amount defined in article 84 of this Code.
(3) A fine of up to 30% of the determined fine to the political party, coalition or the
independent candidate shall be pronounced to the authorized person of the political
CDL-REF(2016)020 102

party, coalition or the independent candidate for the misdemeanor of paragraph (1) and
(2) of this Article.

Article 189-a
(1) A fine in the amount from 8.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall be
imposed to a broadcasting or printed media which will not submit a report on
advertising space used by each participant of election campaign and money paid or
claimed on that basis, 15 days following the conclusion of the election campaign, at
latest (article 85-a).
(2) A fine in the amount from 1.000 to 3.000 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to the editor-in-chief for activities from paragraph (1) of this article.

Article 190
(1) A fine of up to 1.000 to 2.000 EUR, in MKD equivalent, shall be pronounced to the
State Auditor General, for actions contrary to provisions of Article 74-а, paragraphs (1)
and (2) of this Code.
(2) A fine in the amount from 450 to 1.500 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to a person who makes use of a mobile phone or camera to take
photographs of the ballot paper during voting.
(3) A fine in the amount from 300 to 750 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour shall
be imposed to a person from article 106 of this Code if he/she displays mark or symbol
of a political party or a candidate during and at the place of voting or he/she does not
wear a badge during voting.

Article 191
(1) A fine in the amount from 750 to 2.250 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to a person who votes for other persons or on behalf of another
person, as well as one who prevents the presence of the police if there was an
expressed need (articles 102,103, 111, and 112).
(2) A fine in the amount from 750 to 2.250 EUR in MKD equivalent for a misdemeanour
shall be imposed to an official person (police officer) who abuses his or her position
and causes disorder at the polling station (article 102).

XIV-a. ADDITIONAL LISTS

Article 191-a
The lists of candidates for Members of the Council and the lists of candidates for Mayor may be
submitted by registered political parties or coalitions within an additional deadline, latest by the 8
March 2013.

Article 191-b
(1) Following receipt of the candidates’ lists for Members of the Council and the candidates’
lists for Mayors, the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the
City of Skopje determines whether the list has been submitted in the additionally
prescribed deadline pursuant to article 191-a of this Law, and whether it has been
compiled in line with the provisions of this Law.
(2) Should irregularities detected in the list from paragraph (1) of this article, the Municipal
Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje will summon the
authorized representative of the list submitter to remove the irregularities within five
hours of the receipt of the lists.
 103 CDL-REF(2016)020

(3) Should the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje establishes that the list from paragraph (1) has been submitted within the
additionally prescribed deadline and has been complied in line with the provisions of this
Code, i.e. the list submitters had removed the detected irregularities or omissions within
the deadline prescribed in paragraph (2) of this article, it shall confirm the submitted lists
with a decision.
(4) Should the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of
Skopje establish that the lists from paragraph (1) have been submitted untimely, i.e. the
list submitters had not removed the detected irregularities or omissions within the
deadline prescribed by paragraph (2) of this article, a decision will be taken within six
hours of the receipt of the lists to reject the submitted list.
(5) Against the decision of the Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission
of the City of Skopje from paragraph (4) of this article, a lawsuit may be submitted to the
Administrative Court, through the State Election Commission, within six hours upon
receipt of the decision.
(6) The Administrative Court is obliged to take a decision within six hours upon receipt of the
lawsuit.
(7) Submission of complaint and lawsuit by post is not permitted.

Article 191-c
The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje submits
the confirmed lists of candidates for Members of the Council and the lists of candidates for
Mayor submitted in the additional deadline of article 191-a of this law within one hour to the
State Election Commission for additional determination of the order of candidates in the
previously confirmed single list of candidates for the conduct of regular elections for Members of
the Council and Mayor to be held on 24 March 2013, pursuant to this Code.

Article 191-d
The Municipal Election Commission i.e. the Election Commission of the City of Skopje shall
announce the additionally confirmed single lists of candidates for Members of the Council and
the lists of candidates for Mayor immediately after the verification of the additional single list of
candidates for Members of the Council and lists of candidates for Mayor by the State Election
Commission in all inhabited places and at the polling stations in the municipality.

Article 191-e
(1) In line with this law, the submitters of the additionally confirmed lists of candidates for
Members of the Council and lists of candidates for mayor are obliged to register a
unique tax number and to open a bank account as per article 71 of this Code, latest
within 12 hours of the confirmation of the lists of candidates. Within the same deadline
of 12 hours, evidence for the registered unique tax number and for the opened bank
account will be provided to the respective election commission.
(2) Should the submitters of the additionally confirmed lists of candidates for Members of
Council and lists of candidates for Mayors fail to register a unique tax number and to
open a bank account within the deadline prescribed in paragraph (1) of this article, the
confirmed list of candidates will be abolished with a decision of the respective election
commission.
CDL-REF(2016)020 104

XV. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 192
(Article 192 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No.
40/06)
On the day this Code enters into force, the following Laws will become invalidated: Law on
Election of President of the Republic of Macedonia (“Official Gazette of the Republic of
Macedonia” No.20/94, 48/99 and 11/2004); Law on Election of Members of Parliament, (“Official
Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.42/2002 and 46/2004), Law on Local Elections,
(“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.45/2004, 52/2004, 60/2004 and 4/2005),
Law on Voters List, (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 42/2002, 35/2004 and
74/2005), Law on Polling Stations, (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.50/97),
and Law on Electoral Districts for Election of Members of Parliament in the Republic of
Macedonia, (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.43/2002).

Article 193
(Article 193 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No.
40/06)
(1) At the first forthcoming elections for Members of Parliament of the Republic of
Macedonia, the Election Board shall be composed of five members and their
deputies.
(2) The President of the Election Board and his/her deputy shall be selected from among
the employees in the state, municipal and the administration of the City of Skopje,
while two members and their deputies shall be selected from among the public
administration employees by random selection.
(3) One member of the Election Board and his/her deputy are appointed upon a
nomination of the opposition political parties that won the majority of votes at the last
parliamentary elections.
(4) One member of the Election Board and his/her deputy are appointed upon proposal
of the ruling political parties that won the majority of votes at the last parliamentary
elections.
(5) The manner and the procedure for election of members from paragraph (2) of this
article are realised in accordance with article 39 of this Code.
(6) The political parties shall submit their nominations for members from paragraphs (3)
and (4) of this Code to the Municipal Election Commission within five days from the
day of receipt of notification from the Municipal Election Commission.
(7) If the political parties do not submit the nominations within the deadline stipulated in
paragraph (6) of this article, the members shall be appointed by the Municipal
Election Commission.

Article 194
(Article 194 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No.
40/06)
(1) The importance for entering of personal data in accordance with article 41,
paragraph (3) of this Code shall be implemented after conditions are met.
(2) The State Statistical Office shall continue administering the organisational – technical
and methodological processing of the data from the Voters List until it is fully
transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
(3) For administering the voting of Internally Displaced Persons, the Ministry of Justice
shall prepare special excerpts of the Voters List based on the records of the
competent bodies.
 105 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 195
(Article 195 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No.
40/06)
The State Election Commission shall be appointed within 15 days from the day this Code enters
into force.

Article 196
(Article 196 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
40/06)
The by-laws stipulated by this Code shall be adopted by the State Election Commission within
20 days from the day it enters into force.

Article 197
(Article 95 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
In article 18, paragraph (2); 21 paragraphs (2) and (5); 23 paragraphs (2) and (3); 31 paragraph
(2) lines 1, 7 and 14; 34; 35; 36 and 37; 39 paragraphs (1) and (2); 40 paragraphs (2) point 6
and paragraph (3); 66 paragraph (3); 67 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5); 68 paragraph (3); 69
paragraphs (3) and (4); 102 paragraph (3); 111 paragraphs (1) and (6); 113 paragraph (3); 117
paragraphs (4) and (6); 118 paragraphs (1), (2) and (4); 135 paragraph (1); 151 paragraphs (2)
and (3); 157 paragraph (1) and article 170 paragraph (1) and after the words “Municipal Election
Commission”, the words “ Election Commission of the City of Skopje” shall be added.

Article 198
(Article 96 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
State Election Commission shall be elected no later than 30 days from the date this Code enters
into force.
The State Election Commission continues with its work until the election of the State Election
Commission in accordance with this Law.

Article 199
(Article 97 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
Until 1 September 2009, the Ministry of Justice shall continue executing those competences that
shall be transferred to the SEC, pursuant to this Law.

Article 200
(Article 98 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
The State Election Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall
commence performing the activities related to registering of the citizens of the Republic of
Macedonia who are temporarily employed or residing abroad within 60 days from the day this
Law enters into force.

Article 201
(Article 99 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
For citizens who are temporarily employed or residing abroad, the voting for members of the
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia as well as for the President of the Republic shall be
administered after 1 September 2009, in accordance with this Law.
CDL-REF(2016)020 106

Article 202
(Article 100 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
By-laws determined by this Law shall be adopted no later than three months from the date this
Law enters into force.

Article 203
(Article 101 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
Upon a proposal of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, the Parliament of the
Republic of Macedonia, no later than 60 days from the day this Law enters into force, shall
establish a Coordinative Body for the implementation of the activities related to the transfer of
the Voters List from the Ministry of Justice to the State Election Commission, comprised of
members from the Ministry of Justice, State Election Commission, State Statistic Office.
In the coordinative body one member from the parties in opposition and one member from the
ruling parties represented in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia shall be selected.
The Coordinative Body for the implementation of the activities from paragraph (1) shall adopt,
no later than 1 September 2009, a Program and an Action Plan with which it shall determine the
deadlines for the implementation of the activities related to the transfer of competences.
The State Statistical Office shall continue conducting the organisational-technical and
methodological processing of the data of the Voters List until 1 September 2009, i.e. the transfer
to the State Election Commission.

Article 204
(Article 102 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
136/08)
The employees in the regional offices of the Ministry of Justice who perform the working duties
and tasks related to the registration of the right to vote shall be transferred to the State Election
Commission.
Article 205
(Article 92 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
44/2011)
The Deputy President of the State Election Commission continues to perform the function as
Vice-President of the State Election Commission until the end of the mandate for which he was
elected.
Article 206
(Article 93 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
44/2011)
The by-laws determined with this Law shall be adopted within 10 days from the day of entry into
force of this Law.

Article 207
(Article 2 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
31/2013)
The undertaken election activities determined within the deadlines prescribed by the Electoral
Code (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” no. 40/2006, 136/2008, 148/2008,
155/2008, 163/2008, 44/11, 51/11 and 142/11), for conducting regular elections for Council
Members and Mayors which shall take place on 24 March 2013, shall remain valid, until the day
this Law entry into force. The submitted lists, verified lists and the lists determined by drawing
lots of candidates for Members of Council , and the lists of candidates for Mayor, shall remain
valid until the day this Law entry into force.
 107 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 208
(Article 3 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
31/2013)
The provisions of article 1 of this Law, which shall be supplemented with a new Chapter XIV-a
and five new articles 191-a, 191-b, 191-c, 191-d and 191-e in the Electoral Code, shall be
applied only for the first regular elections for Members of Council and Mayor, which shall take
place on 24 March 2013 after this Law entry into force.

Article 209
(Article 2 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
34/2013)
The provision from article 1 of this Law shall be applied only for the first regular elections for the
Members of Council and Mayor, which shall take place on 24 March 2013, after this Law entry
into force.

Article 210
(Article 66 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
14/2014)
In articles 17, 31, 40, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50-a, 55, 61, 69, 91, 95, 101, 106, 107, 113-а, 118,
164, 165, 166, 174 and 175 after the words “the diplomatic – consular offices of the Republic of
Macedonia – DCOs” the words “i.e. the consular offices” shall be added.

Article 211
(Article 67 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
14/2014)
Throughout the whole text of the Law the words “organizer/s of the election campaign” shall be
replaced with the words “participant/s in the election campaign”.

Article 212
(Article 68 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
14/2014)
(1) The State Election Commission, within 6 months of the date of the enactment of
this Law shall be obligated to procure an electronic system for verification of
identification of voters.
(2) In case of failure to proceed pursuant to paragraph (1) of this article, the
responsible person within the State Election Commission shall be fined with a
fine in the amount of EUR 20,000 to EUR 50,000 in MKD equivalent.

Article 213
(Article 69 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
14/2014)
The provision from article 47 of this Law shall start to apply from 01 January 2015 in those
polling stations where the adequate conditions are met, chosen by the State Election
Commission, and from 01 January 2017 it shall start to apply in polling stations there voting
shall take place in 2015 and in polling stations chosen by the State Election Commission,
whereas the full application of this provision shall be mandatory from 01 January 2019.

Article 214
(Article 70 from Law published in “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.
14/2014)
The polling stations from Article 58 of this Code shall be, whenever possible, located in the
same facilities with the new polling stations defined with the division of voters.
CDL-REF(2016)020 108

Law on Amending and Supplementing the Electoral Code published in “Official Gazette
of the Republic of Macedonia” No.196/2015)

Article 75
For misdemeanors stipulated in this Law the determination of the fine for the legal entities shall
be done in line with Law on Misdemeanors

Article 76
In the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Electoral Code (“Official Gazette of Republic of
Macedonia”, no.14/14), Article 68 shall be deleted.

Article 77
In the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Electoral Code (“Official Gazette of Republic of
Macedonia”, no.14/14), Article 69 shall be deleted.

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 78
(1) For the purpose of organizing early parliamentary elections, to be held on 24 April 2016, the
Parliament of Republic of Macedonia shall, within five days of the day this Code takes effect,
publish a vacancy announcement for election of members of the State Election Commission, in
line with the provisions of this Code.
(2) Within 15 days of publishing the announcement of paragraph (1) of this article, the
Parliament of Republic of Macedonia shall elect the State Election Commission, in line with the
provisions of this Code.

Article 79
The Parliament of Republic of Macedonia, in the context of Article 78, paragraph (1), in a
deadline not longer than 5 days of the day of entry into force of this Code, shall adopt a decision
for announcement of a vacancy for election of a president and members of the State Election
Commission, under the conditions and the manner determined with this Code.

Article 80
For the purpose of organizing early parliamentary elections, to be held on 24 April 2016, the
Rulebook for Methodology for Maintenance and Update of the Electoral Code based on checks
and statistical analysis, cross checks of different data bases and archives, unlimited field checks
and other adequate acknowledged methods of checks of Article 31, paragraph (2), item 28-g)
and the Rulebook for Methodology for Full Access, Interventions and Deletion of Data in the
Voter List, as well as the procedure for conducting field checks for the purposes of updating the
Voter List, of Article 31, paragraph (2), item 28-h), shall be adopted by the State Election
Commission, upon prior agreement of the four main political parties in the Parliament of
Republic of Macedonia, within 30 days of the day of entry into force of this Code.
 109 CDL-REF(2016)020

Article 81
The data in the Voter List “personal photo“ as part of the data contained in the Voter List of
Article 45, paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of this Code, shall be contained in the Voter List if
the Rulebook for Methodology for Maintenance and Update of the Electoral Code based on
checks and statistical analysis, cross checks of different data bases and archives, unlimited field
checks and other adequate acknowledged methods of checks of Article 31, paragraph (2), item
28-g) and Article 79 of this Code shall establish that there are technical possibilities for entering
this data into the Voter List.

Article 82
(1) For the purpose of organizing early parliamentary elections, to be held on 24 April 2016, paid
political advertising with the broadcasters, the printed media, and the electronic media (internet
portals), in the period between 20 December 2015 until the start of the election campaign for the
2016 early parliamentary elections, shall be forbidden.
(2) For the purpose of organizing early parliamentary elections, to be held on 24 April 2016,
political advertising on advertising panels and billboards, inclusive of 20 December 2015, as
well as during the election campaign, shall be allowed.

Article 83
As of the day of entry into force of this Code until the Election Day of early parliamentary
elections - 24 April 2016, the broadcasters, printed media and electronic media (internet portals)
must not broadcast or publish advertisements financed by the Budget of Republic of Macedonia,
by the budgets of the municipalities and of the City of Skopje and by all other persons who are
entrusted with public authorizations.

Article 84
The bylaws determined with this Law shall be adopted by the State Election Commission within
30 days of the day of the adoption of the decision of the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia
for election of president, vice-president and members of the State Election Commission.

Article 85
Prior to the next regular parliamentary elections, the State Election Commission shall prepare
and submit to the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia a feasibility report and a plan for
introduction of a voter identification system via fingerprints.

Article 86
The Parliamentary Legislative Committee of Republic of Macedonia shall be authorized to
prepare a consolidated version of the Electoral Code.

Article 87
This Law shall enter into force on the day of its promulgation in the “Official Gazette of Republic
of Macedonia”.