Macedonia not ready to hold elections: EU and US
February 22, 2016
Brussels and Washington said on Sunday that conditions had not yet been met for Macedonia to hold "credible" elections in April.
The ex-Yugoslav country agreed on the snap parliamentary elections in an effort to end months of political gridlock between the government and the opposition. Interim Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev (pictured) formed a technical government in January in order to organize the polls.
However, EU ambassador Aivo Orav and US ambassador Jess Baily sent a letter to Dimitriev arguing there is still work to be done to ensure fair elections.
Still work to be done
"We note that the work of the State Electoral Commission to date and the findings of all relevant experts indicate that at this stage the necessary conditions for organizing credible elections on 24 April are currently not in place," the letter said.
Among the concerns were reports of voter intimidation.
The main opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) had already boycotted the elections for similar reasons.
blc/bw (AFP, Reuters)