SDSM: VMRO‑DPMNE and Levica negotiating electoral crimes, SDSM vows to block "electoral robbery"
SDSM says proposed talks aim to steal votes, will not accept changes to ballot marking or electronic voting for diaspora.
The Social Democratic Union (SDSM) accused VMRO-DPMNE and Levica on Wednesday of negotiating "electoral crimes" inside the Ministry of Justice and said it will not allow what it called an "electoral robbery."
SDSM said discussions between VMRO-DPMNE and Levica are not aimed at improving the Electoral Code but at stealing votes, and called Levica a "satellite" with anti‑NATO and anti‑EU positions. The party warned it will not participate in talks with what it described as "criminals and their invented satellites."
SDSM reiterated it will not support any law that changes how a ballot is marked, citing the history of election abuse in 2016, and insisted there should be no electronic voting for the diaspora.
Party statement and parliamentary process
In its statement SDSM said: "The organized criminal group does not want a better Electoral Code, but rather the theft of votes. That is why they abolished the technical government without consensus and without SDSM's consent, and now they are forcefully pushing solutions to manipulate the electoral process."
The party added: "We will not allow the opening of the door to electoral theft." SDSM says it will refuse to sit at the negotiating table with VMRO‑DPMNE and Levica and will block attempts it considers designed to change the vote count method.
According to SDSM, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski is politically weakened and at a historic low in ratings, and is trying to push an electoral code "by the recipe of Vučić" to enable manipulation. SDSM called for an Electoral Code aligned with European and international standards to protect citizens' will instead of partisan interests.
Today SDSM did not attend a meeting of the working group on electoral reform held with Justice Minister Jeton Shasivari. Representatives of other parliamentary parties were present. The ministry said Shasivari will seek a meeting with MP and SDSM leader Venko Filipche to discuss a possible path to unblock adoption of the new Electoral Code.
Photo: press material from the event
