Elections crucial step towards solving political stalemate in Macedonia: PACE

The snap parliamentary elections on Dec. 11 were an essential step in resolving Macedonia's two-year political crisis, local media said Monday, citing the election observation report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

According to the head of the election observation mission, Stefan Schennach, despite the challenges and difficult situations in the country, Macedonian political parties agreed on the necessary legal framework that led to holding generally well-administered elections.

Election day was generally well carried out and no major incidents were recorded, media here quoted Schennach as saying in the report.

However, the election observation mission expressed concern that no government had yet been formed in Macedonia since the elections, while the head of this mission requested that the Council of Europe (CoE) should monitor developments to that effect, local media reported.

The Parliamentary Assembly, the parliamentary arm of the CoE that upholds democracy and the rule of law, and the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the CoE that provides legal advice to states, will continue to work alongside the authorities of Macedonia in the field of elections and more generally on the reinforcement of democratic institutions through cooperation activities, the report concluded. Endit