The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with Mr. Geert Hinrich Ahrens, Head of OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republic of Macedonia.

At the meeting, President Ivanov expressed confidence that the Republic of Macedonia, in the coming period, will show capacity for conducting the elections and the electoral process in line with the European standards.

"I expect, as before, the electoral process goes smoothly and in a democratic atmosphere, but I must stress that all participants in the electoral process bear political responsibility and duty to respect the electoral rules and laws," said President Ivanov.

The meeting expressed satisfaction that most of the current OSCE/ODIHR recommendations are accepted and will be implemented. President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia appreciates the presence of OSCE monitoring mission, as well as their suggestions for improvement of the electoral legislation in the country.

The Head of OSCE monitoring mission informed President Ivanov about their upcoming activities related to the electoral process and exchanged views on the role of individual segments and stakeholders in the electoral process.

The Macedonian President expressed conviction that OSCE mission will, as before, professionally perform its task within its strictly defined mandate.