SDSM says Brvenica home-vote results were published online before sealed boxes were opened

SDSM accused local branches of VMRO-DPMNE of publishing the results of home voting for the sick in Brvenica before the sealed ballot boxes were opened during the official count.

Party spokesperson calls for a prosecutor investigation

At a press conference SDSM spokesperson and member of the party's Executive Board Bogdanka Kuzeska said that on 17 October mobile teams had taken votes from sick and bedridden voters in Brvenica — 85 out of 88 registered — and that those figures were shared on Saturday immediately after the home voting via social media accounts linked to VMRO-OKG.

“Immediately after the close of the polling stations, the VMRO-Orban portal ‘Republika’ published the same results: 50 votes for their candidate, 20 votes for Vlen, 15 for DUI and zero for SDSM. The numbers match the posts on VMRO pages. How did they know a day earlier?” Kuzeska asked.

She reminded that votes cast at home by the sick and immobile are collected in sealed boxes in the presence of a commission and are opened together with the ballots from polling stations on election day.

“Those votes are not counted and published the previous day. Unless someone already ‘knows’ what is inside. Hence SDSM zero. It is easy when someone has access to the ballot papers. This is not ‘unofficial’ data. This is a confession. They knew what was inside the sealed boxes before they were opened and before the official counting by the Commission,” Kuzeska said, and asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate how it was possible to know what was inside sealed ballot boxes.

She also drew parallels with 2015-era recordings that allegedly exposed pressure on voters and manipulation of vulnerable groups, accusing current VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski of continuing methods associated with the previous leadership.

On the extraordinary mayoral vote in Brvenica, the candidate of the coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE, Stojancho Radichevski, came first with 2,943 votes; Arkin Jahiji of the coalition led by DUI received 2,152 votes. Both will go to a runoff in two weeks. Jakup Useini (Vlen) finished third with 1,528 votes; Jovica Radeski (the SDSM-led coalition) was fourth with 706 votes. Independent candidates Dushan Bogdanovski and Arife Idrizi received 55 and 21 votes respectively.

Photo: SDSM