Skopje, 30 December 2025 (MIA) - Ministry of Justice sent a letter on Tuesday to the Parliament, parliamentary parties, independent groups and MPs to each nominate two members for the working group on the Electoral Code, expected to start work later in January.

According to the Ministry of Justice, a draft working version of the Electoral Code will be sent to MPs, who will then submit proposals to the working group following consultations within their parties.

Justice Minister Igor Filkov met last week with Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi and parliamentary group coordinators to discuss the need for comprehensive reform of the Electoral Code.

It was agreed at the meeting, the Ministry of Justice said, that a working group would be set up by mid-January to prepare a new Electoral Code. The group will include two representatives from each parliamentary party and independent MPs.

Filkov informed that amendments to the Electoral Code were prepared by the Ministry of Justice in June 2025, incorporating some of the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR.

There is currently no information on what else the Ministry of Justice’s proposal includes, or whether it contains the proposal for a single electoral district. The Ministry says these and other proposals should come from the political parties and the agreements they reach.

The Ministry of Justice says a broad political consensus is needed to adopt a sustainable and high-quality Electoral Code.

In an interview with MIA last week, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi stated that parliamentary group coordinators agreed the Electoral Code should be adopted by consensus, without specifying a timeline.

“We discussed the composition of the group that will participate, the format, and where the discussions would take place, among other matters. However, since the Ministry of Justice is leading this process and is proposing the law, they will invite the political parties to nominate two representatives each, not only those organized in parliamentary groups but also those who are not, as well as independent MPs. So, we need complete consensus in the process of adopting the Electoral Code. We agreed on that. Once we have the text proposed by them, we will know exactly whether it is entirely new, amended, or in which direction to what extent the text has been changed. The political parties will then provide their comments on that text and discussions will begin to align their positions, in order to reach a final decision,” Gashi said.

Gashi said that discussions are expected to start right away in January, with an increased pace to align positions.

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