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An early parliamentary election was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 5 June 2011, a year earlier than necessary.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=News – Macedonian PM to dissolve parliament )〕 All 123 parliamentary seats of the ''Sobranie'' were due for election, including the 3 seats provided for the first time for representatives of the Macedonian citizens living abroad: 1 from Europe, 1 from North America, and 1 from Asia and Australia. The decision of the ruling parties, the Christian Democratic VMRO-DPMNE and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), to dissolve the Parliament and call for an early election was preceded by protests of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), the major opposition party, and subsequent boycott of the Parliament by them, and by other smaller opposition parties. == Background == The parliamentary election in Macedonia was due in mid-2012, after the ruling coalition between VMRO-DPMNE and DUI won over two thirds of the parliamentary seats in the 2008 early election. A bitter dispute between the ruling coalition and the opposition was triggered when a police-assisted raid of public revenue officers took place on 25 November 2010, on a group of related companies including a private TV station, three daily newspapers, and other companies, for alleged tax evasion offenses. The opposition claimed that the media were raided due to their anti-government inclination.〔(Radio Free Europe:'Free Speech' Row In Macedonia After Police Raid TV Channel. 26 November 2010 )〕〔(EUInside:What is going on with media in Macedonia? 1 December 2010 )〕 The opposing SDSM organised a huge rally on 5 December 2010, in which, according to estimates of the organisers, some 50,000 marched on the main streets of the capital Skopje and in front of the Parliament building, demanding that charges against the companies and the managers be dropped, and early election.〔(Balkan Insight:Thousands Join Macedonia Opposition in Protest March. 5 December 2010 )〕 However, the investigation continued, and on 24 December 2010 16 people were charged and detained for suspected tax evasion, abuse of office and money laundering, including the owner of the TV station and several executives.〔(SETimes:Macedonian police detain TV station owner. 26 December 2010 )〕 On 28 January 2011 the opposition SDSM decided to walk out of the Parliament in protest, citing lack of democratic capacity of the government, and demanding early election.〔(EUInside:The Macedonian parliament was left without opposition. 28 January 2011 )〕 The move was followed by the smaller opposition parties in the Parliament – New Social Democratic Party (NSDP), New Democracy (ND) and the Liberal Party (LP). The Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) supported the decision, but they were already boycotting the Parliament since 2009.〔(SETimes:Macedonia's DPA to boycott parliament. 11 August 2009 )〕 The ruling coalition initially rejected this request for early election by the opposition, citing strong public support according to the polls, and solid parliamentary majority as main reasons against the opposition's demands. But after a one-month standoff, during which the opposition SDSM lobbied the EU & US officials, foreign diplomats, and failed to participate in consensus-building on any major political issues, the Prime Minister accepted the request and announced on 23 February 2011 that early elections will eventually take place.〔(EUInside:Ruling parties and opposition in Macedonia get ready for early elections, 23 February 2011 )〕 After the failed attempts of the major parties to reach consensus on the changes of the electoral law and other demands of the opposition during March,〔(Balkan Insight:Macedonia PM, Opposition Fail to Reach Election Date Deal. 16 March 2011 )〕 the Parliament was dissolved on 14 April 2011, and the election was called the next day, with the election date set for 5 June 2011.〔(SETimes:Macedonian parliament dissolved. 15 April 2011 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Macedonian parliamentary election, 2011」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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