Eurasia Press & News
Macedonia’s presidential election may fail due to the large number of citizens who are uninspired by any of the candidates and say that they are not inclined to vote, some analysts say.
Days before the first round of voting on March 22 opinion polls show that there is a high number of undecided voters who say they will not vote, the local ”Utrinski Vesnik” said on Wednesday.
Citing the vagueness of the statements made by the candidates, the feeling that they ”do not offer anything new” but ”empty promises”, university professor Osman Kadriu said that “having in mind the whole atmosphere I would not be surprised if the presidential election fails”.
The most recent poll carried out by the ”Rating” agency found that 17 per cent of the respondents said that they are not motivated enough to go out and vote, while 14 per cent said they are not motivated at all.
Analysts cited in the newspaper say the problem may occur in the second round set for April 5, in which the two front runners from the first round will compete. Mindful of this problem, last year the parliament lowered the threshold for electing the president from a 50 to 40 per cent of turnout in the second round.
Philosophy professor at Skopje’s University Biljana Vankovska argues that this might also prove insufficient. “The people might additionally be dissuaded from voting if the first round is marred with violence and intimidation”, she says.
In this case, last year’s initiative by the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party to elect the president in the parliament might be reactivated, she said, but noted that this would not be good for democracy as it would mean that the government would inevitably vote for a representative from their own party.
The poll will be closely monitored and is seen as crucial for Macedonia’s democratic credibility. Last year’s general election was marred with violence which damaged the image of the country.
