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RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0372/01 1621322
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101322Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7413
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0338
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHSQ/USDAO SKOPJE MK
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2295
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: STATE ELECTORAL COMMISSION RULES ON 
ELECTION RE-RUNS IN 196 POLLING STATIONS 
 
REF: SKOPJE 368 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Following a review of political parties' complaints 
of irregularities and violence during the June 1 
parliamentary elections (reftel), the State Electoral 
Commission has invalidated voting in 196 polling stations. 
The SEC decision opens a window for as many as 170,000 voters 
in northwestern Macedonia to cast ballots in re-runs of early 
Parliamentary elections scheduled for June 15.  ODIHR's HoM 
positively characterized the SEC ruling as "revolutionary in 
light of past practices."  The list of polling stations will 
be finalized later this week, after the Supreme Court reviews 
parties' appeals.  In response to international community 
pressure and in an effort to improve the security environment 
in the Municipal Electoral Commissions (MECs) and Local 
Election Boards (LEBs) for the re-runs, the SEC also voted to 
fire six MEC presidents cited as having contributed to the 
irregularities.  The impact of the SEC's decision to broadly 
re-run elections in disputed areas on Macedonia's ability to 
regain ground lost in the violence and fraud-marred June 1 
elections will depend largely on the security climate during 
the June 15 re-runs.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 6, the State Electoral Commission (SEC) 
completed its review of political parties' and observers' 
complaints of irregularities, intimidation, and violence in 
the June 1 elections.  The SEC annulled the voting of 196 
polling stations in three Electoral Districts in northwestern 
Macedonia.  Approximately 170,000 voters are registered in 
the polling stations in which the results were invalidated. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) By law, re-runs must be held on June 15, but a 
final list of polling stations to be included in the re-runs 
is not expected until late on June 13, following a 48-hour 
period for parties' appeals to the Supreme Court, an 
additional 48 hours for the Supreme Court to decide on each 
of the appeals, and a final decision by the SEC to re-run the 
elections in the polling stations in which voting was 
invalidated.  (Note: Unless the Supreme Court unexpectedly 
overrules the SEC's decisions in a large number of polling 
stations, we expect re-runs in all polling stations in which 
voting was invalidated.  End note.)  Concerned that his 
party's mandate would be clouded by election problems, Prime 
Minister Gruevski offered strong public support for a broad 
re-run of disputed polling stations during the SEC's 
deliberations: "I expect the SEC to carefully review the 
complaints and if it has the slightest suspicion of 
irregularities, to make a decision to re-run." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) All polling stations for which voting was 
invalidated are in majority ethnic-Albanian areas.  The bulk 
of the polling stations are in the Tetovo and Gostivar 
region, with a sizeable number in Aracinovo and Lipkovo, as 
well as Saraj and Cair.  Rival ethnic-Albanian parties DPA 
and DUI had divergent views on the impartiality of the review 
of complaints about polling stations.  DPA announced it would 
appeal the SECs' decision, disappointed that very few polling 
station results in DUI strongholds were invalidated, while 
the bulk of the appealed polling stations in DPA strongholds 
were annulled.  Press reported that DPA would boycott the 
re-runs if the Supreme Court upheld the SEC's decision, 
though DPA VP Selmani indicated to us that no such decision 
had been made.  DUI, in contrast, praised the SEC's decision 
as "logical, fair, and based on fact." 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  During the June 1 elections, a number of MECs and 
LEBs were cited as allowing and/or contributing to election 
fraud during the June 1 elections.  We have encouraged the 
GoM to bring in LEB and MEC members from outside the areas of 
the disputed polling stations, as they would be less 
susceptible to local influence and pressure.  In its first 
session following the marathon sessions to review parties' 
complaints, the SEC voted to release from service six MEC 
presidents in Tetovo, Gostivar, Saraj, Lipkovo, Bogovinje and 
Brvenica because of their roles in election irregularities. 
The SEC plans to assign on June 10 LEB members to polling 
stations which will hold re-runs.  According to a local 
election-monitoring NGO, however, many LEB members have asked 
to be excluded from the second round of voting, concerned 
 
SKOPJE 00000372  002 OF 002 
 
 
about security issues and pressure from the parties. 
 
 ¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  Although the SEC's comprehensive review 
of disputed polling stations and decision to broadly re-run 
elections in areas where violence and fraud dominated were 
supported by the PM and praised by ODIHR and the 
international community, a successful second round of 
elections is not guaranteed.  ODIHR's long-term observers, 
especially in the Gostivar area, are concerned that incidents 
of violence and intimidation could increase in the second 
round. They report that DUI supporters, many of whom were 
restrained by party leaders in the first round, are 
threatening to take up arms in the second round.  MEC and LEB 
members continue to report intimidation attempts by DPA 
activists, and many do not want to serve for the second 
round.  Domestic observers from MOST also are concerned about 
the security situation, but nonetheless plan to monitor about 
70% of polling stations.  Whether the SEC's decision to 
broadly re-run elections in disputed areas will help 
Macedonia regain ground lost in the violence- and 
fraud-marred June 1 elections will depend largely on the 
security situation at and around the polling stations for the 
June 15 re-runs. End Comment. 
Milovanovic