Imagine your Government Minister ordering electricity shut down in your neighborhood. Why? Because it is Election Day and people want to go out and vote. But not for the ruling party, as the majority of citizens disapprove of a major reconstruction project in the city center of the capital.
This is exactly what happened in Macedonia during the 2013 local elections. At least, this is what was revealed in the audio recordings released by the biggest opposition party in the country. For weeks now they have been publicly releasing audio materials where high ranking government officials, media owners and other public figures are discussing illegal political plots against their opponents.
So far, the public has heard conversations on well-organized election fraud, like ordering media pieces from several Macedonian TV channels and rigging court decisions, all in favor of the ruling party. What is quite disturbing is the level of criminality discussed in these plots, involving high-ranking officials.
On the other hand, the opposition party’s interest in this scandal is not clear. They claim the audio tapes were leaked by particular “concerned citizens” from the State Security Service, where they were recorded illegally. The chief of the secret police supposedly ordered the wiretapping of more than 20,000 people in Macedonia. One daunting dilemma is: why would one order an extensive wiretapping against one’s own ministers? The opposition claims this is a preventive loyalty, possibly using the tapes to keep in check those who disobey the Prime Minister.
It is questionable why the opposition is not releasing the tapes entirely. Journalists and the public are constantly kept alerted for the next “episode” of government scandals. It seems the motive to keep this “House of Cards” marathon going is an attempt to regain voter support, considering the fact that the party has been struggling to reshape its public image because of past political burden.
Due to this political turmoil happening in the country, a few of us, CEU students, decided to show concern and raise this issue internationally. By setting up a blog in English, we publish the audio recordings as a way to keep the international community informed. We plant further analytic input since we think it is necessary to preserve democratic debate in the country.
Please visit or contribute to our blog macedoniawatch.wordpress.com or comment on our Facebook page Macedonia Watch. We could use all the support we can get!
This is exactly what happened in Macedonia during the 2013 local elections. At least, this is what was revealed in the audio recordings released by the biggest opposition party in the country. For weeks now they have been publicly releasing audio materials where high ranking government officials, media owners and other public figures are discussing illegal political plots against their opponents.
So far, the public has heard conversations on well-organized election fraud, like ordering media pieces from several Macedonian TV channels and rigging court decisions, all in favor of the ruling party. What is quite disturbing is the level of criminality discussed in these plots, involving high-ranking officials.On the other hand, the opposition party’s interest in this scandal is not clear. They claim the audio tapes were leaked by particular “concerned citizens” from the State Security Service, where they were recorded illegally. The chief of the secret police supposedly ordered the wiretapping of more than 20,000 people in Macedonia. One daunting dilemma is: why would one order an extensive wiretapping against one’s own ministers? The opposition claims this is a preventive loyalty, possibly using the tapes to keep in check those who disobey the Prime Minister.
It is questionable why the opposition is not releasing the tapes entirely. Journalists and the public are constantly kept alerted for the next “episode” of government scandals. It seems the motive to keep this “House of Cards” marathon going is an attempt to regain voter support, considering the fact that the party has been struggling to reshape its public image because of past political burden.
Due to this political turmoil happening in the country, a few of us, CEU students, decided to show concern and raise this issue internationally. By setting up a blog in English, we publish the audio recordings as a way to keep the international community informed. We plant further analytic input since we think it is necessary to preserve democratic debate in the country.
Please visit or contribute to our blog macedoniawatch.wordpress.com or comment on our Facebook page Macedonia Watch. We could use all the support we can get!
Marija Stojanovska Rupcic,
MA Student, School of Public Policy
Ana Todorovska,
MA Student, Department of Public Policy
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