"Key international standards were not met in yesterday's elections, as organized attempts to violently disrupt the electoral process in parts of the ethnic Albanian areas made it impossible for voters in many places to freely express their will," the OSCE said.
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's coalition gained 48.3% in Macedonia's parliamentary polls. The Social Democrats garnered just over 23%. The results mean that Gruevski's coalition will obtain a majority in the 120-seat parliament.
"Violence and attempts to manipulate the campaign sadly cast a shadow over otherwise well-run elections that gave most voters a real choice between an array of political forces. The violence we noted in ethnic Albanian areas is an unacceptable breach of peace and people's democratic rights," OSCE PA Vice President Pia Christmas-Moller, special coordinator of the OSCE short-term observers, said.
Macedonian lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament and call early elections for June 1 over a quarrel with Greece, which recently vetoed Macedonia's bid for NATO membership over a 17-year-long dispute with Athens.
Greece objects to Skopje using the name the Republic of Macedonia, saying the name implies a territorial claim to the country's northern province of Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
During the election campaign, Gruevski's coalition pledged not to bow to Greek pressure to change the ex-Yugoslav republic's name and continue negotiations on Macedonia's entry into the European Union and NATO.
The OSCE also said: "The observers noted that while the elections were well administered procedurally, the law was only enforced selectively and the authorities failed to prevent violence and intimidation in ethnically Albanian areas."
"On election day, one person was killed and several injured. Voting and counting was marred by numerous serious irregularities, in particular in parts of the ethnic Albanian areas, including cases of intimidation, unrest, ballot box stuffing, and tampering with results."
