Skopje, 29 June 2026 (MIA) - SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Monday the party has major remarks over the Electoral Code that has been forwarded to the Parliament after the working group, in which the opposition party did not take part, completed the amendments to the law.

Filipche told a press conference that SDSM would block the Electoral Code's adoption in the Parliament, saying it is an alibi of the incumbent authorities for the Reform Agenda, "while the goal is to put in place a controlled system of voting at elections."

SDSM objects to the provision related to the electronic voting of the diaspora, whose origin and location cannot be verified.

"This opens the risk for massive and uncontrolled voting, similar to the time of the Gruevski-led governments. This is a dangerous system that opens the door for manipulation and electoral theft by the authorities, while giving them a head start of several MP seats even before the vote itself," said Filipche.

According to him, another aspect is the secrecy of the vote due to allowing a different way of marking the number of the candidate or party on the ballot instead of encircling it, thus "reinstating control over the election process."

The third remark relates to the provision of accepting objections only if they are included in the records, which as the SDSM leader said, restricts the State Election Commission's room to review the whole scope of the election materials.

"These three provisions are neither European nor democratic. It is an excuse that the authorities want to adopt the law in order to implement the Reform Agenda. Instead, they want to put a regime in place, they want to employ instruments that control and abuse the electoral process. We will block this law in the Parliament because citizens deserve a fair election process, not one controlled as in the Gruevski era," said Filipche.

MIA file photo