Skopje, 7 May 2024 (MIA) – Election silence is in place in North Macedonia as of Monday midnight, ahead of the second round of the presidential elections and the parliamentary elections on May 8. The silence will remain in place until the closing of ballots at 7 pm on May 8.

There are 1.814.317 eligible voters for the second round of the presidential elections on May 8, while 1.815.350 citizens can vote in the parliamentary elections on the same day. The difference of 1033 voters is mainly due to citizens who are coming of age.

The vote will be held in 3480 polling stations. Voters will be allowed to enter a polling station and vote only once during the day.  

A day before the vote, on Tuesday, the first to vote at the elections will be the infirm, inmates, persons in retirement homes, as well as nationals registered to vote in the diaspora who are only eligible to vote in the presidential elections.

In a press release earlier on Monday, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (AVMU) reminded that the election campaign for the second round of the 2024 presidential elections and the parliamentary elections is set to end at midnight with the beginning of election silence.

“During the election silence, the media will continue to report about the electoral process, but all forms of electoral media promotion of the participants in the campaign are suspended,” underlined the Agency.

The Agency reminded that under the Electoral Code, violation of the election silence is considered the broadcasting of any information, photographs, audio and audiovisual materials in connection to or those that include participants in the elections; any forms of media coverage openly or in disguise in the service of an election campaign, which could influence the decision of voters; data that reveal the identity of the political subjects and/or individuals involved in incidents or other irregularities on election days, as well as statements by candidates in the election process, by election campaign participants, by political party officials and by office holders in governmental bodies.

Photo: MIA Archive