The changes to the Electoral Code have been finalised and are due to enter parliamentary procedure today. Among the new provisions are several that directly affect citizens - e-voting for Macedonians abroad, a ban on party promotion on official profiles, a new threshold for independent candidates and a change in how funds for political advertising are distributed.

E-voting for those living outside the country is the biggest new provision and potentially the most important - for years, voting from abroad was complicated, slow and had low turnout. The question is whether the new system will be secure and trustworthy enough, or whether it will open new doubts precisely where trust is already at its most fragile.

The ban on party promotion on official profiles sounds reasonable - state institutions should not be the extended arm of any party. But, as with every provision of this kind, the question is not whether it will be written, but whether it will be enforced, and who will oversee that enforcement. A law that is not applied is just good intentions on paper.

Still, the most telling part is the political context - the changes are tabled by the ruling parties alone. Electoral rules written by one side, without broad consensus, always carry the risk of being read as cut to its own measure. Nine independent civic initiatives have already requested changes that would level the conditions for everyone. Whether those voices are heard or merely noted will show whether this is a reform or a reckoning.