OSCE Chairman welcomes Presidential initiative to address election conduct in Skopje

BRUSSELS, 3 March 2006 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, has welcomed the initiative by President Branko Crvenkovski to launch a series of roundtable election discussions.

The roundtable that began yesterday in Skopje is the first of four, each of which targets a different group of stakeholders, including the media, civil society, political parties, and religious communities.

"I hope lawmakers in Skopje will reach agreement on the new election code. It is encouraging to see that the authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are concerned to improve election conduct.

"I hope these discussions, held at a high level and under the auspices of the President, will lead to some concrete plans and commitments for conducting elections which comply with OSCE standards, namely those enshrined in the Copenhagen Document," added the Chairman-in-Office.