US embassy in Macedonia denies any election interference
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Embassy in Skopje is rejecting allegations in pro-government Macedonian media that the ambassador has met, or intervened with, electoral officials following the country's parliamentary election.
In a statement Wednesday, the embassy expressed "concern" at reports that Ambassador Jess Baily was interfering with the work of the electoral commission. It said "this is not a time for fake news or conspiracies."
Sunday's election gave former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party a narrow victory over the opposition Social Democrats, who are challenging the official results in an appeal to the electoral commission.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The vote, held two years early, was part of an internationally-brokered attempt to end a festering political crisis prompted by opposition claims that Gruevski's government orchestrated a massive wiretapping scandal.