The State Election Commission handed over the Certificate to Crvenkovski confirming that he is the newly elected President of the Republic of Macedonia. According to SEC Spokesman, Zoran Tanevski, with this act the 3 days deadline in which the President should give his solemn statement has begun.

According to the Parliamentary sources, the inaugural session will probably take place on Wednesday in the Macedonian Parliament. Crvenkovski will swear to follow the Constitution and the Laws, after which he will officially take the position of President of the Republic of Macedonia, the Agency of Information reports.

FINAL RESULTS FROM THE SECOND ROUND FINAL RESULTS BY MEC - SECOND ROUND

According to preliminary results from the second round of elections on April 28th, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski will become the next President of Macedonia. Final results are expected to be announced over the weekend.

While noting that there had been an increase in irregularities from the first round of voting, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission, Ambassador Friedrich Bauer, said at an April 29th press conference that the “overall picture remains that of a democratic election held under extraordinary circumstances.” He praised the State Election Commission (SEC) for “a remarkable job” in organizing the elections in such a short period of time.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE SECOND ROUND PRELIMINARY RESULTS BY MEC - SECOND ROUND

The first round of the presidential election was held on April 14th.

On April 15th, the State Election Commission announced preliminary results, as follows:

Mr. Kedev, a VMRO-DPMNE MP, will compete in the second round of elections against Prime Minister Crvenkovski, who is also the President of SDSM. The second round will be held on April 28th. In order for the election to be valid, at least 50% plus one of all registered voters must cast votes.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE FIRST ROUND PRELIMINARY RESULTS BY MEC - FIRST ROUND FINAL RESULTS FROM THE FIRST ROUND FINAL RESULTS BY MEC - FIRST ROUND

SEC Spokesperson Zoran Tanevski held a press conference on Monday 5 April 2004 to launch the joint SEC and IFES voter education program. More than 30 journalists attended and were given previews of the polling station poster and the five television spots. The spots were provided to all state-owned television and radio stations at the national and local levels. The three state television stations at the national level will air the spots a total of 69 times prior to Election Day.

As a result of the tragic death of President Boris Trajkovski, Macedonia is holding the first round of early presidential elections on April 14th. The second round will be held on April 28th.

There will be four candidates on the ballot. Under the Constitution of Macedonia, a candidate can qualify for the presidency by being nominated by either 30 members of parliament or by 10,000 voters. Unlike the law governing parliamentary elections, the political parties have no role under law for supporting candidates. Nonetheless four major political parties are supporting the candidacies of the four individuals approved by the State Election Commission.

The candidates are:

•  Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM), the Prime Minister;
•  Sashko Kedev (VMRO-DPMNE), an MP;
•  Gezim Ostreni (DUI), an MP; and
•  Zidi Xhelili (DPA), also an MP.

On March 25th, the SEC rejected the candidacy of former Minister of Internal Affairs, Ljube Boshkovski, for failing to meet the residency requirement of the Constitution. Mr. Boshkovski appealed his rejection to the Supreme Court, which upheld the SEC decision.

 

The first round of the early presidential elections in Macedonia has been scheduled for April 14th, Parliament Speaker and acting president Ljupco Jordanovski stated at yesterday's press conference in Skopje.

"Elections will take place on 14 April, Wednesday," Parliament Speaker and acting President Ljupco Jordanovski said, adding that he signed the notice for elections late on Monday at 19:00 hours. Consequently, the 40-day deadline for electing a new president commenced on Monday.