FYROM annuls results in 193 polling stations after violence

Reruns will decide which of rival parties will join governing coalition

SKOPJE (AP) – Electoral authorities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will annul results from 193 polling stations after detecting fraud or other irregularities in the violence-marred parliamentary election last weekend, officials said Saturday.

“The commission has decided unanimously that a rerun vote will be held at these polling stations (involving) a total of 170,000 voters,” State Election Commission chairman Jovan Josifovski told reporters.

Voting in these polling stations was annulled on several grounds, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation and violence, officials said.

The commission has reviewed 56 complaints from political parties on irregularities involving about 300 polling stations out of a total of 2,976. Political parties and coalitions can appeal the commission’s ruling to the Supreme Court within 48 hours of its announcement. The court must rule on the appeal within another 48 hours.

If the high court upholds the commission ruling, the rerun elections will be held on June 15 at all 193 polling stations.

Gunbattles and reports of ballot fraud in ethnic Albanian areas prompted authorities to suspend voting in 22 polling stations. One person was killed and eight were wounded in the fighting, which brought international condemnation.

About 50 people had been detained over the last three days in connection with violence and irregularities. A court ordered at least 30 of them to be held for 30 days – including one policeman.

Next weekend’s reruns could determine which of the two main – and bitterly opposed – ethnic Albanian parties will be invited into a governing coalition: DUI, run by former rebel leader Ali Ahmeti, or the Democratic Party of Albanians, run by Menduh Thaci.

Although Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, 37, won by 48.2 percent, enough to give him a majority in the 120-seat parliament, it is traditional to invite one of the Albanian minority’s parties to join the government. According to the results so far, the DPA, which is part of the outgoing governing coalition, won 10.52 percent, or 105,000 votes, compared with DUI’s 11.13 percent, or 111,000 votes.