Skopje, 21 August 2021 (MIA) – Starting Saturday, the electoral role is opened for voters to check and confirm their data ahead of the October local elections. The process ends on September 9. The State Election Commission (SEC) on Saturday will open for the public the updated electoral roll, which will be used on election day. The electoral roll is available at the State Electoral Commission’s site or voters can check data by visiting izbirackispisok.gov.mk. During this time, voters should send a request to have their data included, removed or added in the electoral roll in a written form to regional SEC offices or to send an email to the Commission presenting proof. Before being signed on October 1, the electoral roll should be completed and updated ahead of the elections by September 24 after also being approved by the political parties. In a first, voters’ identity in the coming local elections will be checked through fingerprint scanners. On August 8, the Interior Ministry sent voters’ data, including fingerprints, to the Commission within 48 hours since the elections were scheduled, which is in line with the Electoral Code. This past Monday (August 16) marked the start of the process for collecting voters’ signatures for candidates to run in the local elections. It ends of Aug. 30. By Friday, signatures were collected for four lists of independent candidates, including candidates for municipal councilors in the Municipality of Centar, the Municipality of Kavadarci, the Municipality of Rosoman, and the Municipality of Kochani. The process continues for independent candidates willing to run for mayors of Skopje, the Municipality of Karposh, Bitola, Makedonska Kamenica, Ohrid, and Sveti Nikole. As preparations for the 2021 local elections are under way, the parties have started revealing candidates for mayors and municipal councilors. The ruling party SDSM has announced that it will reveal several candidates by August 24 at the latest. VMRO-DPMNE has unveiled the names of another 19 candidates, including the actor Toni Mihajlovski, who is preparing to enter the mayoral race for Kumanovo. Also, VMRO-DPMNE and Alliance for Albanians and Alternativa has announced they will join forces for the local elections. Election campaign starts on September 27 at midnight and ends on October 15 at midnight. Election day is scheduled on October 17 with the second round set to take place October 30. The election process will be organized with COVID-19 protection protocols in place.