Conference Paper

According to international documents and conventions, expert recommendations as well as the Macedonian Constitution, one of the election principles that by all means ought to be respected while creating the election model of the country is to consider the principle of the voting equality. This indispensable and essential democratic rule is built on the equality of citizens and ought to be respected for all types of elected political representation, including the seats assigned for the ex-patriot voters. This paper intends to analyze whether in legal and practical terms the principle of the equality of voting is respected in the case of domestically elected members of Parliament in Macedonia, compared to the elected ex-patriot MPs, considering comparison with the experiences of other countries. Included are the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations on the Macedonian Electoral Codex, the Venice Commission recommendations, as well as studies and comparative papers from IDEA, IFES and other organizations and authors.