Macedonia State Election Commission Changed Data on their Website

• Овој пост е достапен и на македонски: Променети податоци на веб-сајтот на ДИК за резултати од изборите

This morning some the State Election Commission changed some of the data on their website.

During the night Libertas.mk informed about discrepancies between the actual numbers, sums and percentages shown on SEC website. Incited by the numerous posts on the social networks, as soon as I opened the article I also accessed the SEC Results website and verified that the screenshots published by Libertas are genuine. That was around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

This is how data on Aerodrom on SEC website looked around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

Another screenshot of SEC website made around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

Around 10:30 I returned to the SEC website and saw that it displays different data, with the numbers, sums and percentages which correspond. One hour before, the turnout for the whole country was 64.05%, and the new figures lowered it to 63.93%. Similarly for the municipality of Aerodrom, in the morning it had turnout of 99.76%, and after 10 pm the turnout was 68.49%.

This is how data on Aerodrom on SEC website looked around 10:30 on 29.04.2014.

Another screenshot of SEC website made around 10:30 on 29.04.2014.

I am curious as to what figures are contained within the results provided on paper to the international observers immediately after the counting.

As a public, a people and a state we deserve an explanation from SEC whether this is some sort of error or purposeful changes, and if there was an error, what caused it.

--- Update at 15:40 hrs, 29.04.2014 ---

SEC sent the following media release by e-mail at 14:25 hrs.:

    Republic of Macedonia
State Election Commission
                
          29.04.2013.
             Skopje

Media Announcement

Regarding the claims put forward by certain Internet portals about the difference of 20.000 votes between the valid and invalid ballots at the early parliamentary elections in municipality of Aerodrom, the State Election Commission issues the following clarification:

During the input of data in the computer syste of the State Election Commission a typo was made in the field 5.of the registry of the Municipal Election Commission which contains the data about the total number of voters who voted. During the comparison of the recorded data in the system with the records of the MEC Aerodrom it was discovered that the system in the field 5. contains the data item 63,818 instead of 43,818. This error was corrected and it has no influence on the votes won and the mandates by political parties which are correctly input in the system, it only has an effect on the percentage of turnout.

According to the correction made, the turnout at the parliamentary elections in Aerodrom municipality is 68.49%, and at the level of Republic of Macedonia it is 62.95%.

State Election Commission

Underrepresentation of Women as Recipients of State Awards in #Macedonia

Can the only important thing done by women for this state from 2009 to 2014 is to be a well known singer or one-twelfth of the support staff for a male national team?

According to his "Account" („Отчет“), during his mandate as president of Republic of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov awarded medals to 185 individuals. His official explanation why is the following:

"I did all this to send a strong message to the Macedonian public that everything that has been achieved in culture, sport, and social life is valued and noted by the state."

4% of the recepients of these awards are female.

Those 4% consist of 8 persons. Two are citizens of Republic of Macedonia fellow-party member Esma Redzepova-Teodosievska and Iva Chadikovska - member of the support staff of the male handball national team, consisting of a dozen persons, which received a medal in bulk. The other 6 female ricipients are foreign nationals, including one professor of Slavic studies, and 5 members of the ethnic Macedonian diaspora.

The 1% of the medal recipients are female citizens, as opposed to about 50% of the population seems quite disproportionate, especially due to the ambitious declaration that the purpose of the awards was to provide recognition to "everything that has been achieved." Do you think so, too?



PS
Analyzing by areas, for instance taking into consideration which ministers received medals posthumously, "everything" important turns out to mean - the police.

Similar hazy criteria applies to institutions which received medals. For instance, in the priority area of education, only two institutions of higher learning received medals - the Faculty of Law "Iustinianus Primus," in Skopje (where Ivanov was professor) and the SEE University - Tetovo.