THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

ELECTIONS IN 2006

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Chamber:

Sobranie

Dates of election / renewal (from/to):

5 July 2006

Purpose of elections:

Elections were held for all seats in the Assembly two months earlier that they were statutorily due. The elections had previously been held on 15 September 2002.

Background and outcome of elections:

On 18 April 2006, Speaker Mr. Ljupco Jordanovski announced early parliamentary elections for 5 July 2006, two months ahead of the official deadline. The elections were the fourth since the country gained independence in 1991.

The last elections in 2002 had been marred by violence at several polling stations and attacks on political party offices. The final results gave 60 of the 120 seats to the "Together for Macedonia" coalition, formed by the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and some smaller parties. The coalition formed by the VMRO - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) and the Liberal Party won 33 seats and became the major opposition force. The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), the successor of the Albanian National Liberation Army, obtained 16 seats, winning over 70 per cent of the vote in the ethnic Albanian community. The DUI subsequently joined the coalition government.

The 2006 elections were contested by some 2,700 candidates and 33 political parties and coalitions. Despite progress in the country's candidate status to the European Union (EU) under the SDSM-led Government, the opposition VMRO-DPMNE was reportedly gaining ground amidst high unemployment and discontent with privatization. The SDSM was further weakened when Mr. Tito Petkovski left in November 2005 to form the New Social Democratic Party (NSDP), over ideological differences on privatization and health-care spending.

The Christian Democrat VMRO-DPMNE, led by Mr. Nikola Gruevski, formed an electoral coalition with 13 other parties including ethnic Turkish, Vlach, Serb, and Roma parties (see Note). The VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition criticized the slow pace of reform and the budget deficit under the SDSM government, and called on voters to support its plans for new economic development. The DUI formed a pre-election coalition with another ethnic Albanian party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP).

The election campaign was marred by numerous incidents that particularly affected the ethnic Albanian community, which makes up around 25 per cent of the country's two million inhabitants.

A total of 55.98 per cent of the country's 1.74 million registered voters turned out at the polls. With extra police forces being deployed, voting went off in relative peace. The EU had warned that the country's accession to the EU could be significantly delayed in case of serious troubles on polling day.

About 500 international observers monitored the poll, including a mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE-ODIHR). The OSCE-ODIHR mission reported that the elections had generally been conducted in accordance with international standards for democratic electoral processes, although there had been irregularities including ballot-box stuffing, group voting and vote-buying in certain polling stations. It criticized the State Electoral Commission (SEC) for rejecting all complaints of election irregularities without reviewing them. The SEC subsequently reviewed 46 complaints filed by various political parties, which were then submitted to the Supreme Court.

On 14 July 2006, the Supreme Court ordered a re-vote in 29 polling stations in six electoral districts, which took place on 19 July. A total of 39.58 per cent of the 29,000 registered voters turned out at the polls. On 22 July, the SEC rejected all remaining complaints over the voting process.

The final results gave the VMRO-DPMNE coalition 45 seats, followed by the SDSM-led "Together for Macedonia" coalition with 32 seats. The DUI-PDP coalition won 17, while its rival, the Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDS), obtained 11. The NSDP won seven seats; and the VMRO-NP took six. The Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM) and the Party for European Future (PEI) won one seat each.

On 28 July, President Branko Crvenkovski gave a mandate to form a new government to the VMRO-DPMNE leader, Mr. Nikola Gruevski.

The Assembly of the Republic held its first session on 1 August and elected Mr. Ljubisa Georgievski of the VMRO-DPMNE as its new Speaker (President of the Assembly) with the support of 69 out of 120 MPs. The session was boycotted by the DUI-PDP deputies in protest over their exclusion from the new governmental coalition.

On 15 August, Mr. Gruevski officially announced the formation of a coalition government comprising the VMRO-DPMNE, the PDS, the NSDP and some non-partisan members. His government was officially sworn in on 26 August 2006.

Note:
The VMRO-DPMNE Coalition included the following parties.
- VMRO-DPMNE
- Liberal Party of Macedonia
- Party of Macedonia
- Democratic Union
- Party for Movement of Turks in Macedonia
- Union of Roma in Macedonia
- Party of Democratic Action of Macedonia - SDA
- Party of Vlachs of Macedonia
- European Party of Macedonia
- Green Party
- People's Movement of Macedonia
- Democratic Party of the Bosniaks
- Party of Democratic Forces of Roma in Macedonia
- Party for Roma Integration

STATISTICS


Round no 1 (5 July 2006): Election results
Number of registered electors		1'741'449
Voters		974'891 (55.98%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers		37'931
Valid votes		936'960



Round no 1: Distribution of votes

Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
VMRO-DPMNE Coalition		304'128	32.46
Together for Macedonia		218'008	23.27
Democratic Union for Integration-Party for Democratic Prosperity Coalition (DUI-PDP)		113'424	12.11
Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDS)		70'019	7.47
New Social Democratic Party (NSDP)		57'043	6.09
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party (VMRO-NP)		57'128	6.10
Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM)		17'591	1.88
Party for European Future (PEI)		12'718	1.36


Round no 1: Distribution of seats

Political Group				Total
VMRO-DPMNE Coalition				45
Together for Macedonia				32
Democratic Union for Integration-Party for Democratic Prosperity Coalition (DUI-PDP)				17
Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDS)				11
New Social Democratic Party (NSDP)				7
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party (VMRO-NP)				6
Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM)				1
Party for European Future (PEI)				1

Comments:

Source:
- http://www.sec.mk/Default.aspx?alias=www.sec.mk/english
- IPU Group (10.08.2006)

Note on distribution of seats according to sex:
Thirty-three women were elected on 5 July. However, after the formation of the new government on 26 August, the total number of women parliamentarians increased to 34 (28.33 per cent): the parliamentary mandate of two male ministers was assumed by female substitute members, while one female minister was replaced by a male substitute.

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men:

Women:

Percent of women:

27.50

Distribution of seats according to age:

Distribution of seats according to profession:

Legal professions		28
Scientists		19
Engineers/PC experts		17
Educators		15
Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses)		13
Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers)		10
Economists		8
Business/trade/industry employees, including executives		4
Others		2
Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants		2
Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers)		1
Architects		1

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