North Macedonians will go to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of the presidential election, followed by a second round on May 8.
Pendarovski, the current president of North Macedonia, whose bid for a second term is supported by the ruling, pro-European Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the conservative party’s candidate opposition VMRO DPMNE, are currently favored. to advance to the second round.
Critics of the media law amendment say public advertising can restrict press freedom by leaving media outlets financially dependent on the government, leading to self-censorship and biased reporting.
It can also be used as a tool to reward or punish media outlets based on their coverage of government activities, ultimately creating a hostile environment for independent journalism and undermining the press’s watchdog role, a prominent national journalist has said .
“This is an attempt to return state publicity to the media before the elections,” Mladen Čadikovski, president of the Association of Journalists of North Macedonia, told POLITICO. “All this is being done through a shortcut procedure and by abusing the European flag,” he said, adding that the amendment was falsely presented as complying with EU media laws, which the country candidate will eventually have to adopt if it becomes a member of the EU. the block.
Brussels opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia in July 2022.
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