Macedonia elections 2009

Last weekend Macedonia held presidential and municipal elections. Many watched these elections with apprehension, as irregularities in voting caused violent demonstrations during the last elections in June of 2008. This year the OHRID Institute together with the OSCE Mission in Skopje, implemented pre-election project named: Election Awareness and Party Responsibility 2009.

The ruling party's presidential Georgi Ivanov took a convincing lead in the first round of Macedonia's elections, with twice the number of votes as his nearest rival in early vote results. With 15 per cent of the ballots counted, Ivanov had 38.49 per cent, more than twice as much as his nearest rival. The turnout among the 1.8 million registered voters was 51.68 per cent, the election commission said. The Social Democrats' candidate, Ljubomir Frckovski had 18.4 per cent and was closely followed by the independent runner and controversial former interior minister Ljube Boskoski, with 17.3 per cent.

A second round will bring Ivanov and Frckovksi face to face on 5th April next.

Georgi Ivanov – VMRO DPMNE - political science professor at Skopje Law Faculty; a newcomer on the political scene. Ivanov’s biography states that he founded two NGOs, the Macedonian Law Studies Centre and the Institute for Democracy, Solidarity and Civil Society. The later is particularly active as a think tank, assessing contemporary politics in the country. He became best known for criticism of the Ohrid peace agreement, which ended the ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001 by granting more rights to this community. He was especially against new territorial divisions agreed in 2004 – part of the decentralization plan envisaged in the 2001 deal. Ivanov reiterates regularly support for EU and NATO membership as Macedonia's strategic goals.

VMRO DPMNE [Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity] centre-right; Christian Democratic orientation; supports Macedonia's admission to NATO and EU. The party, founded in 1990, sees itself as heir to the original VMRO, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation, a 19th-century national liberation movement in the Ottoman Empire.

Ljubomir Frckoski – Social Democrats - former interior and foreign minister in the Social Democrat governments during the 1990s; teaches International Law and International Relations at the Faculty of Law in Skopje. As a politician and expert he participated in some of the most important events in Macedonia’s recent history.

Frckoski was one of the experts involved in preparing Macedonia’s first constitution in 1991. From 1990 until 1997, he was a minister in the Social Democrat government, as minister without portfolio until 1992, interior minister from 1992 to 1996, and then foreign minister from 1996 to 1997.

He has slated the government for alleged populism and nationalism, and for leading the country away from its strategic goals in EU and NATO. Frckoski belongs to the French Institute of International Relations, is a member of the International Law Association and is a former Secretary General of the Human Rights Forum. In 2002 he was elected a member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance for the Council of Europe.

SDSM [Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија - Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia] centre-left; successor to the League of Communists of Macedonia. The SDSM is the leading opposition party, standing for liberal economic policies, a generally pragmatic approach and for co-operation with the international community. The Social Democrats are seen as moderates who take a conciliatory attitude towards ethnic minorities. With that in mind, they passed a law on decentralization that then opened the way towards eventual EU membership.

Overview of the elections: Macedonian Information Agency and BalkanInsight

Verkiezingen Macedonië

Op 22 maart vinden in Macedonië nieuwe verkiezingen plaats. De belangrijkste kandidaten zijn:

Georgi Ivanov – VMRO DPMNE [Vnatrešna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija – Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo] – een centrum-rechtse partij die zichzelf omschrijft als christen-democratisch en die bovendien voorstander is van de toetreding van Macedonië tot de NATO en Europese Unie.

Ljubomir Danailov Frčkoski [Љубомир Данаилов Фрчкоски] – SDSM [Socijaldemokratski sojuz na Makedonija] – centrum-links; de opvolger van de communistische partij [SKM - Sojuz na Komunistite na Makedonija] die Macedonië geleid heeft van 1945 tot 1990. Frčkoski was achtereenvolgens Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken.

Imer Selmani [Имер Селмани] – Nova Demokratija - Demokracia e Re – een centrum-rechtse partij van etnisch Albanezen die pas in 2008 opgericht werd na een dispuut met Menduh Thaci, de leider van de Democratische Partij van Albanezen DPA - PDSH [Partia Demokratike Shqiptare]. Selmani was voor geruime tijd Minister van Gezondheid.

Agron Buxhaku – BDI [Bashkimi Demokratik për Integrim; Mac.: DUI [Demokratska unija za integracija] – de grootste Albanese partij in Macedonië. De partij is na de oorlog in 2001 opgericht uit een samensmelting van het Nationaal Bevrijdingsleger (UÇK) en de Macedonische Veiligheidstroepen. Buxhaku was tot 2005 Minister van Transport.

Nano Ružin [Нано Ружин] – LDP [Liberalno-Demokratska Partija]. Liberaal-Democratische Partij die in 1997 ontstaan is uit een samensmelting van de Liberale en de Democratische Partij. Ružin was jarenlang ambassadeur bij de NAVO.

Ljube Boškoksi [Љубе Бошкоски] – De voormalige Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken treedt op als onafhankelijke presidentskandidaat. Boškoksi wordt beschuldigd van oorlogsmisdaden, maar blijft populair bij de Macedoniërs.

Mirushe Hoxha [Hodza] – PDSH [Partia Demokratike Shqiptare] ook wel DPA [Demokratska Partija na Albancite] genoemd. Hoxha is momenteel professor ‘Feministische letterkunde’ aan de universiteit van Skopje.

Balkan Reforms Lag, Economic Freedoms Weak

Economic freedoms in the Balkans are suffering because of bloated governments, state monopolies, inconsistent regulations and widespread corruption, said the 2009 Index of Economic Freedom report, which stressed that further economic and fiscal reforms were crucial at a time of global recession.

Out of all Balkan countries, Bulgaria was the front runner coming in at 56th place. There was respectable showings by Albania at 62nd place, Romania at 65th and Slovenia at 68th place, which however managed the biggest gains in economic freedom in Europe, improving its score by 2.7 points in 2008.

Macedonia and Montenegro placed in the middle tier, ranking 78th and 94th respectively. The biggest laggards of the region were Serbia at 109, Croatia at 116 and Bosnia-Herzegovina at 134, just ahead of Ethiopia.

"Business freedom, government size, monetary freedom, investment freedom, and freedom from corruption are weak," the report said of Serbia, while on Croatia it noted that its "overall weakness stems from its outsized government", while "in addition to high levels of government spending, the government's presence in other key areas of the economy is considerable."

Bosnia's position at the bottom of the European pile, ahead only of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, was due to the "inefficient and high government spending, weak property rights, and widespread corruption" that "hold down overall economic freedom...and discourage entrepreneurial activity."

"As a result of sluggish privatization of state-owned enterprises, the private sector's contribution to GDP has grown rather slowly," the entry on Bosnia added. "Bureaucratic and non-transparent regulatory systems remain a problem for foreign investors and domestic entrepreneurs."

The report said the low flat tax rates of 10 to 15 percent – among the lowest tax rates in the world – along with strong focus on privatization and internal structural reforms were a driving force for strong growth in Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in 2008.

source: BalkanInsight.com

Macedonië en Griekenland vechten naamdispuut uit in het Internationaal Gerechtshof

Skopje heeft een klacht ingediend bij het Internationaal Gerechtshof inzake de naamstrijd die al 17 jaar de relaties tussen Griekenland en Macedonië verzuurt.

"With this action, the government of Skopje once again reaffirms that it is not interested in a swift resolution of the dispute on the issue of the country's definitive name," and is violating "the fundamental principle of good neighbourly relations," reageerde de woordvoerder van het Grieks ministerie.

Griekenland weigert de constitutionele naam het buurland - Republiek Macedonië - te erkennen doordat een regio in het noorden van Griekenland ook Macedonië wordt genoemd. Athene vreest dat de naamswijziging tot territoriale claims over dat gebied zou leiden. Griekenland voegt er nog aan toe:

"We are ready to defend our positions, but this will be a long and drawn-out legal procedure and throughout its course, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will remain outside the international organisations it wants to join."

Nieuwsberichten die deze week mijn aandacht trokken...

Kroatië mag binnenkort waarschijnlijk tot de Europese Unie toetreden... Voor Servië, Bosnië-Herzegovina en Macedonië zal het echter nog iets langer duren...

Croatia could conclude accession negotiations with the EU by the end of next year, if it fulfills the remaining conditions, while Serbia could become an official EU candidate, according to a draft report on the western Balkan countries' progress towards the EU that the European Commission will present next week. In a report on the western Balkan countries' progress towards the EU that the European Commission will present next week, Brussels will reiterate a warning it expressed earlier about Bosnia and Herzegovina's political instability and the lack of reform in the country.

De Economist belicht in het artikel "Who's next?" de (instabiele) economie van Oost-Europa.

The economies of eastern Europe face stormy times, even if Western banks hold their nerve. The political fallout may be even worse