MINELRES: Macedonia: ECMI Proposes New Electoral Model

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Original sender: Roma Network <romale@zahav.net.il>


http://see.oneworld.net/article/view/128118/1/3260 

ECMI Proposes New Electoral Model
Elena Simonoska 
 
The European Centre for Minority Issues � ECPM
<http://www.ecmingonet.org.mk/index.html> presented its proposal for
changes in the Election Law, with recommendations to develop and promote
realistic and just multiethnic society. The proposal was prepared by the
expert group for citizen rights working under the �Roma Expert Groups
for Roma Integration�, established by ECMI. 

The proposed changes include implementation of the existing proportional
model for election of 120 MPs in six election districts, accompanied
with changes that would reserve 12 seats in the Sobranie (Macedonian
Parliament) for the representatives of smaller ethnic communities
(communities with less than 20% share in the total population of the
country), elected on the basis of nation-wide lists, in accordance with
the proportional model. 

Unlike the existing electoral models, the ECMI proposal offers
additional seats for the smaller ethnic communities, open lists that
offers a possibility for the voter to circle the exact candidate that
wins the vote, competition of political parties within an ethnic
community, as well as competition inside the political parties. 

ECMI proposes that Macedonia is treated as a singly electoral district
for the smaller ethnic communities, and the 12 seats should be
distributed in accordance with the share of the given community in the
total population: four seats for the Turkish community; three for the
Roma; three seats for the Serbian community; one seat for the Vlach and
the Bosnian community each. 

According to ECMI, the ballot, identical for all electoral districts,
should be divided in two segments: the first part will list the
candidates for 20 MPs on the proportional lists in the 6 districts,
while the second will refer to the political parties of the smaller
ethnic communities who will compete for the additional 12 seats in the
Sobranie.

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