Home > 1.2.1 Equal voting rights > THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA - Joint Opinion on the Electoral Code as Amended on 9 November 2015
 
 
 
Download file    
 
 
Paragraph 20
 

Article 4 aims to address the imbalance in out-of-country constituencies by consolidating the previous three constituencies into one and by setting a minimum threshold for the election of out-of-country members of parliament. In order to be elected, the first candidate must receive the same number of votes as the member of parliament elected with the least number of votes from an in-country constituency in the previous parliamentary elections; for the second candidate to be elected twice as many votes should be cast, and the election of the third requires thrice as many votes. However, if no candidate reaches the required number of votes to obtain a seat, out-of-country voters will not be represented, thus violating the principle of universal suffrage. It is recommended that an alternative procedure be provided so that the right to vote of all eligible voters abroad, as provided by Electoral Code, is guaranteed in conformity with the principle of equality of the vote.