NDI - Europe: Central and Eastern

Kosovo Success Stories: From Tomorrow's Leaders

jfrant — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 21:51:42 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/04/2017

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English, Serbian, Albanian

Since 1999, NDI in Kosovo has helped citizens and political leaders at all levels build a strong civic culture by establishing comprehensive and durable democratic institutions.

As part of its support to political parties, NDI has been working with their leadership to foster internal democracy, with a particular focus on opening more space for women and youth to take leadership roles and invest in increasing their capacities. The Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA) and the New Media School (NMS) are two examples that illustrate NDI’s methodological approach of bringing together women and youth in cross-party settings to learn new skills and techniques that will enhance their abilities and turn them into valuable resources for their respective political parties.

Since 2013, NDI has provided skills-building training in effective political engagement and advocacy to these individuals with funding from the United States Agency for International Development. Beyond training, the programs provided these emerging community leaders with opportunities to network and connect with each other, across party, geographic, and ethnic lines, learning about common concerns and developing shared strategies to approach them. By working to empower new leadership and establishing linkages with political representatives, NDI can encourage national and branch leadership to be inclusive of those individuals emerging from the grassroots and ensure they are fully engaged in political processes.

In this publication, NDI presents the accomplishments of a remarkable group of Kosovars—women and youth activists—who have embraced their civic responsibilities, helping raise citizens’ concerns within their political parties and to other decisionmakers in order to bring about change in their communities.

Since 1999, NDI in Kosovo has helped citizens and political leaders at all levels build a strong civic culture by establishing comprehensive and durable democratic institutions.

English

Albanian

Serbo-Croatian

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Current political developments in the Republic of Macedonia

jfrant — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 16:11:06 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

12/09/2016

Language:

English, Macedonian

Early parliamentary elections took place in the Republic of Macedonia on December 11, 2016. To gauge public perception of the political situation ahead of elections, NDI conducted focus groups in September with undecided voters in Macedonia's six electoral districts: Skopje, Kumanovo, Shtip, Strumica, Bitola, and Tetovo.

During the fall, the most important issue discussed in public was the need to elect an interim government, which was in place until December 11. This, in turn, raised questions about the integrity of the Voter's list, which has been under scrutiny due to the fact that it had nearly 40,000 contested voters, approximately 30,000 of which were consequently removed. However, differences in the number of voters in the electoral districts remained unresolved. In the meantime, the Special Prosecution Office (SPO), created in 2015 in light of the wiretapping scandal to rein in corruption and alleged criminal conduct by officials, submitted its second report to the Macedonian Parliament along with three requests to that would streamline and improve its work. The SPO also initiated its first two indictments: the first related to the illegal destruction of the wiretapping equipment, and the second related to the ordered violence upon the mayor of the Municipality of Center. Other issues that caught the public attention were debates with regard to selling farmers' produce and the adoption of the 2017 state budget.

In light of these political happening, NDI's focus group research provides clarifications on why citizens have a certain opinion about the situation in the country covering issues such as:

Whether Macedonia is moving in the right or wrong direction;
Associating political parties with/comparing parties to "houses";
Inter-ethnic policies;
Perceptions of the SPO and the State Election Commission; and
Recommendations to and expectations from political parties and the future government.

English

Macedonian

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Central and Eastern Europe: Interfaith and Interethnic Coalition-Building to Combat Xenophobia and Religious-Based Discrimination

jfrant — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:00:17 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Language:

English

Europe’s refugee crisis, terrorism, and economic recession are driving prejudice against religious and ethnic minorities and perpetrating xenophobia across the continent. In the “Visegrad” countries of Central Europe—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia—xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia increasingly dominate public discourse, linking national grievance with sectarian intolerance and jeopardizing the wellbeing of ethnic and religious minorities. To develop sustainable responses to xenophobia, racism, and sectarianism in Central Europe, NDI is implementing a program to help civic groups develop the skills, relationships, and shared objectives to foster among them coordinated action to counter intolerance and promote pluralism.

English

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Serbia: 2016 Parliamentary Elections and Beyond

erodriguez — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 21:00:12 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/21/2016

Resource Type:

Election Report

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has compiled a brief report on Serbia's political landscape following snap parliamentary elections and scheduled municipal elections in April. The government of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic won re-election handily, while new, and not so new, political alternatives produced notable results as well. The election outcome positions Serbia to take on important tasks related to European Union integration, governance reform, economic development, and regional stabilization. The election process itself highlights areas of needed democratic reform.

NDI's Serbia program portfolio includes nonpartisan citizen election observation, public policy research and discourse, parliamentary and political party strengthening, and LGBT and Roma political participation. The Institute has been supported in these efforts by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Open Society Foundation/Serbia, to which it extends its appreciation. The content of this report is that of NDI alone.

English

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Building Public Trust in Kosovo through Parliamentary Ethics

erodriguez — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 20:19:49 +0000

The Assembly of Kosovo faces its most critical democracy test since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Partisan battles over forming a government after inconclusive elections in 2014 have led to an extended period of political instability, and ultimately to political turmoil in parliament. Opposition members have repeatedly unleashed tear gas during session to block proceedings related to contested provisions of an agreement normalizing relations with Belgrade. All political parties, whether in government or in opposition, need to handle sensitive political issues in a more responsible, consultative, and transparent manner.

Omar Ashmawy (right) of the U.S. Office of Congressional Ethics discusses parliamentary ethics laws and their enforcement with members of the Kosovo Assembly, joined by President of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli (center), and NDI Kosovo Director, Alexander Chavarria (left).

NDI public opinion research shows that, in general, citizen trust is at all-time lows in both parliament and in the political establishment as a whole. Frustrated by slow economic progress and corruption, the public wants results, not rancor, from elected leaders. Albert Krasniqi of the Kosovo Democratic Institute described the roots of the mistrust: “Over the years, we’ve heard members of the Assembly using un-parliamentary language, we’ve seen them getting involved in illegal activities, we’ve seen members discussing and voting on legislation that directly affects their personal business interests, or members that teach at private universities voting for accreditation of the same institutions that pay salary to them.”

NDI has supported the Kosovo Assembly, with USAID funding, since the body’s inception in 2001. In light of the current crisis, NDI engaged the Speaker of the Assembly and other parliamentary leaders in government and opposition on how to improve ethical standards, and how the Assembly can demonstrate to the public that it is conducting the people’s business with integrity. NDI called upon the expertise of the U.S. Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) through the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a bipartisan congressional initiative to provide peer-to-peer support to parliaments worldwide. OCE Director Omar Ashmawy visited Kosovo in June to discuss with political leaders, members of parliament and civil society activists how the U.S. Congress codifies parliamentary ethics, assesses Members’ behavior and enforces standards. They also talked about how this experience can inform the Kosovo Assembly in establishing proper ethics codes and means for enforcement. NDI used the occasion to present its Common Ethical Principles for Members of Parliament that members of parliament can refer to in their professional conduct.

The Kosovo Assembly has a standing code of member conduct, but they have no discernible means for proper and timely enforcement, and little in the way of resources to build robust oversight. Based on Ashmawy’s experience and advice, several political party leaders have committed to building effective enforcement mechanisms, such as a standing parliamentary committee on ethics.

Members of the Kosovo Assembly used Ashmawy’s visit to reflect on restoring the Assembly’s public image. Selvije Halimi, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Legislation, said that the MP behavior “correlates with the way the institution is perceived. If our conduct does not meet the minimum norms of society, then citizen confidence will erode and we will not uphold the integrity of the Assembly.” Building parliamentary ethics is among many NDI initiatives in the legislative and political realm to help Kosovo’s representative bodies perform with democratic integrity.

Published on August 26, 2016.

Tech for Transparent Elections: “Citizens on Watch” in Serbia

erodriguez — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 16:41:26 +0000

Quick, reliable information about election results and processes is essential to ensure confidence in elections. Equipped with strong data that is rapidly collected and analyzed, unbiased observers can dispel (or verify) rumors about an election and help strengthen public trust in the results. This is where innovative technologies play a crucial role. New technologies can minimize the often time-consuming process of collecting, cleaning, and analyzing large amounts of data originating from thousands of polling stations nationwide. Nonpartisan election observation missions can also use technology to ensure the public quickly sees critical data that the observers collect, when it matters most.

One standout example is the recent “Citizens on Watch” campaign from The Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA) in Serbia.

CRTA prepares accreditations for observers ahead of the April 24 elections in Serbia.

One standout example is the recent “Citizens on Watch” campaign from The Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA) in Serbia. CRTA works with citizens to improve the openness and accountability of their government institutions using innovative technological solutions, such as the Istinomer (“Truth-O-Meter”) website that evaluates politician's statements and the Otvoreni Parlament (“Open Parliament”) portal that raises awareness about Parliament’s work, to advocate for accountability. Ahead of Serbia’s early parliamentary elections in April, CRTA took on a new element of transparency and accountability: their first-ever election observation effort.

CRTA trained and deployed 1,100 citizen observers to monitor the process throughout the country, reached nearly one million people via its social media channels

Leading up to the April 24 election, social media and traditional online media outlets were littered with comments reflecting citizens’ mistrust in the election process. “[We haven’t] received any valid and justifiable reason for having these elections, except for ‘a better future for Serbia’ and exclusively personal and party interests,” wrote one woman on the N1 news site. Like her, many citizens did not see the point of holding early elections. The lack of clear party platforms, the dominance of strident inter-party critique in the media coverage, the abuse of government resources to gain electoral advantage, and the relatively controlled media only added to citizens’ wariness.

This lack of trust in the elections and the campaign mirrors the overall distrust of political and civil society institutions in Serbia, where trust in these bodies is the lowest in the region. With this in mind, CRTA did not just want to monitor the election process—it also dedicated itself to sharing its findings with citizens and putting citizens at the center of its monitoring efforts. To this end, CRTA trained and deployed 1,100 citizen observers to monitor the process throughout the country, reached nearly one million people via its social media channels, and countless more as its findings were picked up by the mainstream media.

In order to independently verify the election results, CRTA deployed monitors to 450 randomly selected, statistically representative polling stations across the country on election day. CRTA then analyzed the data monitors provided on strengths and irregularities at each station via the parallel vote tabulation (PVT) methodology. In this methodology, reports from monitors on the integrity of the voting process are used to precisely project voter turnout and results, as well as the presence and scale of any irregularities in the voting process.

To bolster confidence in civil society and allay demands for immediate election results, CRTA added a novel element to their election monitoring initiative: a livestream. Throughout election day, the public could tune in to the PVT process and see how election observers were collecting and processing information as it came in. Where before citizens only had access to the end results, the livestream brought them into every step of the process.

CRTA Livestream Viewers by Hour

At the end of election day, pressure for results skyrocketed. Serbia’s Central Electoral Commission was unable to report final results, ultimately calling for a re-run of elections at 15 polling stations the following week; the opposition claimed there was enough evidence to suggest that the elections were rigged. This made CRTA’s strong analysis and livestream all the more crucial. When suspicion was cast on the electoral process, CRTA showed the 3,877 citizens who watched the livestream exactly what they were doing to assess the situation.

In Serbia, this tech-fueled transparency made CRTA one of the few credible sources of information in the fraught political atmosphere. By providing continuous, transparent information, CRTA helped to bolster public confidence in the election process and its results. It also set a precedent of pre-election monitoring in Serbia that can be used to highlight areas for further investigation. However, the challenges Serbia faced in this election are not unique. In many other countries around the world, there is a similar lack of trust in civil society organizations that monitor elections, while citizens want immediate results. CRTA’s pioneering livestream is a simple but powerful tool, one that can be deployed around the world to build citizens’ trust in their country’s elections.

"It's good to have someone who informs the public! Bravo CRTA!" - Online public comment

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) provided technical assistance to CRTA in developing and implementing a systematic, evidence-based, election observation initiative for the April elections, with funding from the Open Society Foundation.

2016 Parliamentary Elections Signal A Shift to the Right in Slovakia

sruiz — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 18:28:40 +0000

Slovaks went to the polls early in March to elect a new parliament. The country of 5.5 million is a member of the European Union and NATO, and has experienced, more than most other former communist countries of the region, a bit of an economic miracle generated by foreign investment in manufacturing, proximity to large consumer markets, and a talented workforce. Slovakia however is not been immune from the political challenges facing Europe, notably terrorism, the refugee crisis, and Russian aggression to Slovakia's immediate east in Ukraine. All of these issues were on display during a heated election campaign, which featured a political battle between establishment parties, on both the right and left, and newer entrants, some pushing xenophobic, extremist platforms. At the end of it all, voters gave strong support to these new parties, including those espousing extremist views. The incumbent, center-left SMER party managed to emerge on top, and cobbled a governing coalition together with other establishment parties, albeit ones formerly in opposition on the right.

The mainstream, pro-Europe political consensus that has presided over Slovakia and elsewhere in Central Europe--in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland—since 1989 is being tested by restive electorates concerned about prosperity and security in a Europe struggling to find answers to new and difficult questions. Slovakia's election results suggest that the test isn't over.

In the attached memo, NDI staff in Slovakia's capital, Bratislava, analyze the election results, and reflect on what the elections means for Slovakia's sizable Roma community, which NDI supports through programs that enfranchise Roma in the political process as voters, watchdogs, and elected officeholders.

Citizens gather around a local elections campaign event in eastern Slovakia prior to parliamentary elections.

Slovakia’s March 5 parliamentary elections resulted in a political shake-up as establishment parties on both the left and right gave up a large share of the electorate to new parties, including one perceived by many to be nationalist/fascist.

The left-wing populist Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD), led by incumbent Prime Minister Robert Fico, will lead the new government with erstwhile center-right opponents, in a joint bid by mainstream parties to hold on to power. SMER’s share of the vote dropped significantly.

The far-right Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia (LSNS), led by regional governor Marian Kotleba, enters parliament for the first time with 8 percent of the vote and will be in opposition..

The center-right Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) failed to cross the five percent threshold required to enter parliament for the first time since Slovakia’s independence in 1993. Other traditional parties on the right suffered a similar fate.

SMER and other parties had believed that they would benefit from adopting anti-immigrant rhetoric, protecting so-called authentic Slovak values. But in the end it was Kotleba who benefited most. Adjusting his rhetoric from the 2013 regional elections, when he was elected as governor of the Banska Bystrica region in central Slovakia, Kotleba had assumed a more moderate tone and made a point to spend a lot of time with people in small towns and municipalities, talking to them, listening to their frustrations. He had very limited campaigning in mainstream media. Under a new legal provision, pre-election polling had to be suspended two weeks before election day. Pre-election polls had Kotleba’s party well below the five percent threshold. This suggests that Kotleba took a large segment of late deciding voters.

Kotleba’s popularity was high among first-time voters, with exit polls showing almost 23 percent supporting Kotleba's party, followed by other newer, more mainstream parties parties, including Richard Sulik's Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and Igor Matovic's Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) movement.

Another interesting outcome was the poor result of Radoslav Prochazka's Siet’ party, which ended up with just over five percent, despite polling as high as 15 percent prior to the elections, and perceived by many as the primary threat to Smer.

Voters showed their dissatisfaction with SMER, which dropped to 28 percent in this election from 44 percent in the 2012 parliamentary elections. Popular among older voters, SMER potentially risks a declining base going forward.

Government Formation

Confronted by Kotleba’s strong showing, leaders of other parties quickly put aside their strong political differences to agree on a ruling coalition within a week. SMER-SD, Slovak National Party (SNS), Most-Hid, and Siet have between them 81 out of 150 seats, which is seen as sufficiently comfortable majority. The coalition agreement was signed on March 22. SMER will be the most dominant in the coalition, as the three other parties did not negotiate more influence..

That the agreement was reached in such a short time is interesting and surprising. Shortly after elections it seemed that it would be almost impossible to create a government, amidst speculation about a caretaker/unity government. It seemed almost impossible for SMER. With SNS, SMER’s partner in the outgoing government, SMER did not have enough seats, and it appeared improbable that the center-right parties would step in to make the difference. A broad center-right coalition with support of SNS could had have some chances (SaS - OLaNO - SNS - Most-Hid - Siet), with some support from We are the Family - Boris Kollar.

However, these chances proved quixotic, because center-right unity was sacrificed right after the elections. Immediately after the polls closed, Prochazka was photographed at the government office with Fico and Robert Kalinak (Minister of the Interior in the previous SMER government). Prochazka denied it at first, but then confirmed that he had visited the government office to talk to Kalinak (not Fico), and refused to reveal the topic of their discussion. This immediately provoked reactions within his party as three Siet’ members of parliament (MPs) led by Miroslav Beblavy, Siet’s highly regarded deputy president, stated that they have no more trust in Prochazka. Beblavy resigned from his position.

For its part, SNS stated that it would not be part of a center-right governing coalition, which mathematically upended any chance for such a coalition. SMER apparently wasted no time in inviting Most-Hid to discussions about a possible coalition, and party leader Bela Bugar accepted the invitation. Bugar's decision caused very strong reactions from his voters, who, in similar fallout over Prochazka’s actions, saw his decision as a betrayal. This could complicate the future political fortunes of Siet’ and Most-Hid if their respective support declines owing to their leader’s decisions to go into government with SMER.

The election results indeed showed that Siet’ and Most-Hid barely reached the five percent threshold (despite more promising poll numbers before elections) and that is because, most analysts believe, they clearly did not say “no” to SMER before the elections. Neither Prochazka nor Bugar refused cooperation with SMER - their statements were ambivalent and sometimes confusing. In contrast, the anti-SMER approached helped two other center-right parties--SaS and OLaNO--which categorically refused to govern with SMER during the election campaign. These two parties won many voters who had deserted center-right standard-bearers, the Christian Democratic Movement and the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, which along with the center-right Party of Hungarian Communities, failed to pass the threshold.

At the same time, there was an increasing number of voters who supported anti-establishment parties, like LSNS, which is widely considered to be neo-Nazi, and business mogul Boris Kollar.

It seems that the new government can have a chance to be stable and last the full four years of a government mandate, so there is little risk of early elections. However, this may also mean that there will not be a significant change in the political direction on very consequential issues regarding corruption, the judicial system, etc.

The New Cabinet

Cabinet positions have been apportioned as follows:

SMER will control eight ministries - including the so-called power ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance, Labor, Economy, and Culture
SNS will control: Education, Defense, Agriculture
Most-Hid will have Justice and Environment
Siet will lead the Ministry of Transportation

Fico will remain Prime Minister and all previous ministers will continue in their positions, including Minister of the Interior Kalinak. As for deputy ministers (state secretaries), SMER has one at every ministry. SNS and Most-Hid will have five deputy ministers each, and Siet will have three. Many ministers and deputies will resign their parliamentary seats available for those candidates further down party candidate lists.

Roma Candidates

There were several Roma candidates competing for parliamentary seats, the two strongest were Peter Pollak (OLaNo), the first Roma elected to the Slovak parliament since independence, and Stefan Vavrek (Most-Hid), mayor of Rimavska Sobota, a largely Hungarian-speaking municipality in southern Slovakia. Unfortunately, none of the Roma managed to obtain enough preferential votes to enter parliament. Pollack missed re-election by some 400 votes, Vavrek by some 700. NDI met with both to see what happened.

In many Roma municipalities, voters who wanted to vote for Peter did not circle his number - they just cast an unmarked OLaNO ballot into the box - which made their vote valid for the party but without the preferential vote for Peter. This difference between votes for Peter and empty votes for OLaNO was more than 450 votes in just five municipalities. It appears that Peter's team underestimated voter education in his targeted municipalities.

Paradoxically, OLaNO’s better than expected 11% overall hurt Peter’s chances to win re-election. Slovakia has one election district for the entire country; there are no election districts. Each political party forms one overall list of candidates. A candidate who is not in a ‘winnable’ position on a party list would need a number of individual preferential votes that equals three percent of the party’s overall vote. Because of his notoriety, Peter was placed further down the candidate list. He scored some 8,100 votes, which was 450 shy of the party’s three percent threshold. Peter’s campaign brought in more voters to OLaNO, and this, ironically, produced a higher preferential vote threshold for Peter himself to meet.

Many people who wanted to vote for Roma candidates regardless of their political affiliations had indicated to Peter that they would rather support other Romani candidates, because Peter had the best chance to be re-elected (considering his regular presence in media, for instance, and that in some polls he was the second best known person in OLaNO after the leader, Igor Matovic.

For Stefan Vavrek and his team, it was their first experience in a national campaign. Stefan had the second best result in Rimavska Sobota and Revuca region (the first was party leader, Bela Bugar). Stefan and his team stated that the start of the campaign was pretty late (end of January), because of which they did not have enough time to visit each settlements they planned. They also paid little attention to media-campaign (videos on Facebook, local media) in Slovak and Hungarian. His campaign struggled to win over the non- Roma electorate in his region. Vavrek also had to contend with unethical campaign tactics by a rival ethnic Hungarian party which alleged that Hungarian-language educational services would be cut if it did not prevail.

Roma Representation

Discussions about the scope and placement of the government’s Office of Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities have started. Some are advocating that the office remain within the Interior Ministry and be expanded to include all minority groups. Others would like to see the office remain devoted to Roma communities and be removed from the Interior Ministry and placed in the Office of the Government. As the incumbent plenipotentiary, Peter has indicated he will resign once a successor is determined. Most-Hid wants to nominate Stefan Vavrek. People in his region (not only Roma) want to see him in a good position, as there is presently no official from Rimavska Sobota in the new government. Stefan has said that, if the position is vested with more competencies, then he would consider it. He would, however, have to resign as mayor.

SNS may have also expressed interest in the Office, which is both surprising and troubling given the party’s staunch anti-Roma rhetoric and policy. Another potential candidate is Siet’s Ivan Hriczko. SMER appears not very eager to assume the office.

Published on April 29, 2016

Audit of Political Engagement in Albania

jfrant — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:03:41 +0000

Author:

Mediation and Democracy (IDM)

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/25/2016

Resource Type:

Public Opinion Research

Language:

English, Albanian

NDI's local partner, the Institute for Mediation and Democracy (IDM), conducted an Audit of Political Engagement in Albania, an inaugural public opinion study that explores citizens’ engagement in democratic processes as an indicator of the health of a society. The February 2016 study involved interviews across Albania with 1,538 participants over 18 years of age, as well as four focus groups. It examined a range of political engagement indicators grouped in three areas: political knowledge and interest; political participation and action at local and national levels; and efficiency and satisfaction. It also examined participants’ perceptions on Parliament and their elected representatives, as a responsive and accountable Parliament is a foundational pillar of democratic governance.

The research findings serve as a platform for debate about how to enhance citizens’ engagement in politics. Improving their engagement requires both a realistic baseline to understand how citizens are involved in politics, as well as an honest appraisal of what motivates citizens to become engaged and what prevents them from doing so.

English

Albanian

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NDI Brief on Audit of Political Engagement in Albania	332.23 KB
IDM Audit of Political Engagement in Albania (English)	1.79 MB
IDM Audit of Political Engagement in Albanian (Albanian; Shqip)	1.69 MB

Free Child Care Aids Single Parents and Their Children in Kosovo

njankowicz — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 17:51:29 +0000

Source:

USAID

Article Link:

Published Date:

03/29/2016

With preschools and kindergartens often filled past capacity in Kosovo, it is especially difficult for single parents to arrange child care. But now some cities are offering free child care, to the benefit of children and parents alike. It all began with a discussion of social issues.

In 2012, Arta Tahiri, an elected councilwoman in Kosovo’s municipality of Ferizaj/Uroševac, attended the Week of Women organized by USAID through the National Democratic Institute. The annual event gathers hundreds of Kosovo’s women leaders to discuss social issues that women in the country face every day and to learn new skills that will help them in their chosen fields.

Macedonian Organization “Reactor” to Receive NDI’s 2016 Madeleine K. Albright Grant

jfrant — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 19:28:25 +0000

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) will award its 2016 Madeleine K. Albright Grant to Reactor - Research in Action, a Macedonian research and advocacy organization, which has played a critical role in supporting women’s political participation in the country.

NDI’s Chairman, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, will present this year’s award to Ms. Tanja Maleska, chairwoman of the executive board and one of the founding members of Reactor, at NDI’s annual Madeleine K. Albright Luncheon. Reactor will use the $25,000 grant to develop and implement a web-based tool for women politicians in Macedonia. Through the tool, women politicians will be able to access community support by connecting across party lines, and tap into expertise and resources from the Gender Equality Platform. In addition, Reactor will develop a rapid response mechanism to expose discriminatory practices, attacks, and biased practices.

This year’s luncheon will be held at noon on Wednesday, May 18, at the Four Seasons Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota will give the keynote address, and Sehrish Naseem, the 2016 Andi Parhamovich Fellow, will give special remarks. During her fellowship, Ms. Naseem is developing a project to educate and encourage political parties in Pakistan to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Participate

Reactor is an independent non-partisan and not-for-profit think-tank committed to providing timely and relevant research on the issues of gender equality, youth and urban development, civic engagement, human rights, social justice, and European Union integration. Reactor actively works with the policy community to propose evidence-based policy alternatives.

Reactor has previously seen success in using digital technologies to empower and educate citizens, and has prioritized women’s empowerment and gender equality in their research. They are the initiator and a founding member of the Gender Equality Platform, which includes organizatiaons working on gender equality mechanisms and with women politicians.

The Madeleine K. Albright Luncheon has honored the role of women in politics and the work of women’s political empowerment for the past 10 years. Proceeds from the event support NDI’s Madeleine K. Albright Women’s Project that helps women break down the barriers from engaging in politics, and empowers them with knowledge and skills so they can participate, compete, and lead.

Madeleine K. Albright, the former U.S. Secretary of State and current chairman of the NDI board of directors, has been a role model for and a key champion of the Institute’s work on women’s empowerment and gender equality. In 2005, in recognition of her longstanding activism on the issue of women’s political engagement across the globe, NDI established the Madeleine K. Albright Grant, which each year provides a grant to a grassroots organization working on women’s political empowerment.

Published April 19, 2016

With Democracy at Risk in the Balkans, Political Leaders Look in the Mirror

erodriguez — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 23:27:23 +0000

The Balkans are experiencing a fair share of instability these days these days. External factors—the refugee influx, the Eurozone crisis, Russian economic and political influence, and a pre-occupied European Union—are contributing to uncertainty about political stability and the region’s prospects for joining the European Union. Domestic political conflicts, both inter-ethnic and partisan, suggest that countries in southeastern Europe have some distance to go in becoming stable democracies. Still, progress is evident, even in these challenging environments.

Party Leaders Discuss Building Political Integrity in the Balkans

The Balkans are experiencing a fair share of instability these days. External factors—the refugee influx, the Eurozone crisis, Russian economic and political influence, and a pre-occupied European Union—are contributing to uncertainty about political stability and the region’s prospects for joining the European Union. Domestic political conflicts, both inter-ethnic and partisan, suggest that countries in southeastern Europe have some distance to go in becoming stable democracies.

Still, progress is evident, even in these challenging environments. More people are politically active than before, especially women and youth. Politicians are engaging citizens more than in the past. Long-marginalized groups, such as persons with disabilities and the LGBTI community, are asserting their rights through politics.

NDI has supported participatory, transparent, and inclusive politics in southeastern Europe for 25 years. Political parties play critical roles in this process. In holding political leadership and exercising governmental power, political parties decide the laws, budgets, and policies that impact citizens' lives. How parties wield their power—the degree to which power is shared, transparent, and responsive—was the subject of a NDI forum in Belgrade in February 2016 comprising 30 political leaders from nine countries.

Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as part of NDI's Southeastern European Political Party Initiative, the forum marked the first time that so many party leaders in the region--representing governing and opposition parties, as well as center-left, liberal, and center-right affiliations--gathered to discuss these important and sensitive topics.

Governor Howard Dean Addresses Political Party Representatives.

NDI Board member and former Vermont governor Howard Dean set a reflective tone in keynote remarks. Politicians, he said, spend 90 percent of their time in office figuring out how to remain there, and 10 percent of their time seeking to accomplish what they set out to do in the first place.

Party leaders invoked Governor Dean's admonition in ensuing discussions, which also featured representatives of NDI’s liberal, conservative, and social democratic political party partners in Western Europe. In candid fashion, they laid bare concerns about their parties: how they are run, how women and others are held back from leadership positions, how civic advocates are spurned rather than engaged, how they are insufficiently constructive in parliament, in the media, and out on the campaign trail, and how they should use their power to improve public confidence in the democratic process, which has been fading for some time. Party leaders discussed strategies on communicating with the electorate. They reflected on whether or not they are sufficiently inclusive of all their various constituencies and explored how to improve inter-party relations to avoid political crises. Perhaps most important, they focused on how to build political integrity, both internally and vis-a-vis independent institutions like the judiciary.

By turns confessional and revival, the forum enabled leaders to speak about problems and solutions in a variety of areas. It sparked a number of side discussions between political opponents on how to shore up democratic rules that enable fair political competition between them. It gave NDI the opportunity to feature new and dynamic ways of engaging citizens through communication technology. Despite their political differences, party leaders left the forum with the shared reckoning of the need to meet their democratic obligations, and with collective responsibility to improve how their parties are performing.

Feedback on the forum’s substance and on its collegial and constructive tone was very positive. NDI will organize future leader gatherings on party development and political reform to help politicians lead their parties to accomplish what they are elected to do.

Published March 11, 2016

Leading Women Activists Prepare for Macedonia’s Parliamentary Elections

njankowicz — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 18:20:11 +0000

“Small things make big things happen, and this event reminded me of that.” This comment from a participant who attended NDI’s interactive weekend training session in Ohrid, Macedonia, reflected the elevated mood of her peers. Between December 11 and 13, nearly 100 women from 16 political parties participated in the first session of the Women in Politics training series, which focused on the 2016 parliamentary elections. The series is intended to prepare more women to run for and win national and local political office. Notably, NDI’s multi-partisan approach to training women who are leaders within their parties is a counterbalance to partisan strife that has slowed the country’s democratic progress.

Training session participants send a unified message about ending gender-based violence.

In the past year, Macedonia has seen several public protests both in favor of and against the government, resulting from accusations of illegal government-led wiretapping. Opinion polls indicate that more than half of citizens think their domestic political situation is “intense and uncertain.” With early parliamentary elections being held in April 2016, political parties must field candidates that are ethical, responsive and collaborative.

NDI’s work with political parties and civic groups to increase women’s political participation is not for the sake of achieving gender equality alone. Global research shows women elected officials are more likely to “work across the aisle” than their male counterparts, and more likely to address issues important to constituents. In many countries around the world, cross-party groups of women have united to pass democratic reforms, including in Sri Lanka, where NDI supported a multi-partisan group of women parliamentarians in advocating for and passing legislation for the common good. In Macedonia, NDI seeks to build women’s skills as candidates and representatives, providing them with practical skills, comparative experience and a strong ethical foundation to increase gender equity in representation and the quality of politics overall.

During the December training session, participants engaged in collaborative activities related to developing messages for voters and running social media campaigns. NDI provided examples of how women contribute to the political process in Macedonia and internationally, fostering discussion about opportunities for cross-party collaboration. One participant noted after the vibrant discussion, “I came to a conclusion: in the name of something that concerns everyone, we are all the same!” Participants also explored political ethics by engaging in a modified version of the game “Scruples,” assessing potential responses to political scenarios. The ethics session built upon global work NDI has done to promote political ethics, including creating sample codes of conduct for parliaments and MPs.

NDI maximized the resources available to women potential candidates by engaging four funders to support the Women in Politics training series. In 2014 and in cooperation with NDI, the Embassy of France commissioned a domestic think tank, Reactor, to research and map women’s political opportunities to inform parties about the advantages of running women candidates. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and USAID jointly sponsored meeting and material costs to train women MP candidates in 2015 and 2016; and in mid-2016, the Embassy of the Netherlands will support similar sessions for women mayoral candidates to prepare them for next year’s municipal elections.

As the session concluded on December 13, the energized and united participants posed for a picture wearing red ribbons to demonstrate their support for the UN’s “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” a subject that is at the core of a current campaign led by NDI’s Gender, Women and Democracy team. The photo of nearly one hundred women political leaders was picked up by the Macedonian Information Agency and widely distributed, a sign of unity and collaboration in a time of partisan rancor. As one participant wrote in her evaluation, “the training was very useful from an educational aspect, but mostly because of the possibility to connect on a personal level with women from different parties.”

¹Center for Insights in Survey Research, “Survey of Public Opinion in Macedonia,” September 29-Oct 5, 2015.

²Rosenthal, C.S. (2001) “Gender Styles in Legislative Committees” in Women & Politics. Vol. 21, No. 2: 21-46. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J014v21n02_02].

Published on January 15, 2016.

NDI Poll on LGBTI Issues in the Balkans is a Call to Action

jfrant — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 20:35:44 +0000

Young, educated and urban residents in six countries in the Balkans show measurable support for LGBTI rights, but most respondents to a regional poll released by NDI today do not believe that LGBTI people should be able to live openly based on equal rights. The poll is a guidepost and a call to action to LGBTI groups seeking equal rights for their communities. NDI conducted the research as part of its commitment to more inclusive political processes, wherein all segments of society are able to influence decisions affecting their well being.

The poll reveals low levels of knowledge about the groups comprising the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities, and a correspondingly high degree of resistance to conferring equal rights and opportunities based on sexual orientation and gender identity. At the same time, poll respondents roundly disavow physical violence against LGBTI members of society. And for certain demographic groups, among them young and urbanized citizens, there is a small and perhaps growing acceptance of LGBTI rights.

The research was conducted over the summer of 2015 in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

NDI Public Opinion Poll in the Balkans on LGBTI Communities from NDIdemocracy

“In new democracies struggling to overcome ethnic and sectarian conflict, LGBTI rights have not been as high on the development agenda as they should be,” said Robert Benjamin, NDI’s Central and Eastern Europe Regional Director. “This poll suggests that homo/transphobia is not a fixed prejudice in the Balkans and that LGBTI rights are beginning to receive public recognition. Research of this kind is a critical tool, but to be effective the data needs to be integrated into communication and advocacy strategies that promote equal rights for LGBTI people.”

“The fact that LGBTI people are largely invisible to the general population produces low understanding of the size and scope of discrimination, physical violence and psychological abuse towards LGBTI people,” said Marko Ivkovic of NDI/Serbia, who directed the research. “In Serbia, for example, only 18 percent of the general population personally knows someone who is openly LGBTI, and that’s the highest rate among the countries surveyed.”

According to a LGBTI sample within the poll, three out of four LGBTI people have been exposed to psychological abuse and verbal harassment, one out of four have suffered physical violence, and one out of two LGBTI persons has faced discrimination at school, at work, or elsewhere due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The general population perceives discrimination and violence against LGBTI citizens to be far less in frequency and scope.

The general population rejects same-sex marriage, but is prepared to see some marriage-related rights extended to same-sex couples. “When asked about hospitalization access, property inheritance and health insurance coverage for same-sex couples, more than one-third of the general population, on average, supports these measures,” said Lidija Prokic of NDI/Serbia.

LGBTI people surveyed in the poll and participating in companion focus groups expressed interest to become politically active, in terms of joining political parties and running for elected office. They report voting rates higher than the average turnout.

NDI is presenting data from the poll to LGBTI groups across the Balkans, and to elected officials and media. NDI is also helping LGBTI groups use the findings to build their activist base, giving their community visibility, engaging the public in ways that can shift general sentiment, and advocating before legislators for their physical security and open integration into society. NDI’s work with LGBTI communities is guided by the understanding that political participation is a fundamental means of addressing the social and economic inequities associated with marginalization.

Published on October 28, 2015

The NDI poll was conducted in summer 2015 in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia in coordination with Ipsos Research. The poll was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with additional financial support from the U.S.-based Victory Institute and Sweden’s Civil Right Defenders and pro bono technical support from Grindr for Equality.

Get to Know NDI: Rinor Beka, senior program manager for Kosovo

blesswing — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 14:31:23 +0000

Since 2006, NDI’s Rinor Beka, senior program manager, of Kosovo has been at the center of his country’s democratic transition.

Together with his NDI colleagues, Beka has built bridges between different players in Kosovo’s political arena, including members of parliament, political parties and citizen groups, to ensure that their priorities “focus on people” and continue to lay the foundations of democracy.

In an interview with NDI, Beka talks about working with elected officials to advance transparency and accountability in Kosovo’s national parliament, getting more women and youth involved in the political process and the progress that has been made to overcome a history of inter-ethnic conflict in the region.

“Basically, people who had been looking at each other through the barrel of a gun are now sitting around a table and are discussing about how to build a platform where they can all live together and they can build a future for their children,” says Beka.

NDI’s programs in Kosovo are supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Rinor Beka: Kosovo Assembly Endorses the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness (posted on NDI's DemWorks blog)

Week of Women Empowers Emerging Leaders in Kosovo

In Europe, Roma Fight for Equality

Social Media Boot Camp Empowers Kosovo's Youth Activists

Published on June 25, 2015

Civic Updates

vrao — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:55:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Resource Type:

Civic Update

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Issue 50: A Matter of Political Space (April 2016)	1.06 MB
Issue 49: Social Movements (January '16)	1.22 MB
Issue 48: Peace, Security and Democratic Resilience (August '15)	818.41 KB
Issue 47: Integration (April '15)	1011.57 KB
Issue 46: The Infomediary Role of NDI Partners (Jan. '15)	339.19 KB
Issue 45: The Role of Dialogue in Deepening Democracy (Sept. '14)	1.84 MB
Issue 44: Taking Advantage of Political Entry Points to Improve Meaningful Engagement (May '14)	1.12 MB
Issue 43: Political Inclusion of LGBT Population (Jan. '14)	1.43 MB
Issue 42: Radio as an Effective Communication Tool (Aug. '13)	1.48 MB
Issue 41: The Use of ICT to Enhance Citizen Participation (May '13)	1.57 MB
Issue 40: Supporting Inclusion of Marginalized Ethnic and Religious Groups (Dec. '12)	1.87 MB
Issue 39: Public Opinion Research (Sept. '12)	1.69 MB
Issue 38: Youth Programming (May '12)	1.83 MB
Issue 37: Mainstreaming Persons with Disabilities (Jan. '12)	1.72 MB
Issue 36: Organizational Development (May '11)	1.1 MB
Issue 35: GOTV, Voter Information & Voter Education (Jan. '11)	1.04 MB
Issue 34: Structuring and Maintaining Partnerships (Sept. '10)	306.87 KB
Issue 33: Political Process Monitoring (May '10)	419.89 KB
Issue 32: Defending Space for Citizen Participation (Aug. '09)	204.87 KB
Issue 31: Best Practices for Meaningful Citizen Engagement (April '09)	540.61 KB
Issue 30: Context Matters (Jan. '09)	311.87 KB
Issue 29: Voice, Space and Accountability (Aug. '08)	869.11 KB
Issue 28: Communications Tools (May '08)	207.88 KB
Issue 27: Using Information and Communications Techonologies (Jan. '08)	486.89 KB
Issue 26: Working with Marginalized Populations (Sept. '07)	283.24 KB
Issue 25: Ten Years of Civic Updates (July '07)	258.56 KB
Issue 24: Making Democracy Deliver (Feb. '07)	413.86 KB
Issue 23: Positive Partnerships with Local Groups (May '06)	268.06 KB
Issue 22: Political Activism for People with Disablities (Dec. '05)	458.7 KB
Issue 21: Local Fundraising and Volunteer Recruitment (July '05)	221.65 KB
Issue 20: Tips from NDI Practioners (April '05)	561.26 KB
Issue 19: Get Out The Vote (Dec. '04)	496.75 KB
Issue 18: Involving Youth in the Political Process (July '04)	277.27 KB
Issue 17: Monitoring as a Driver of Change (Feb. '04)	488.58 KB
Issue 16: Citizen Surveys and Other Organizing Tools (Nov. '03)	546.03 KB
Issue 15: Making University Connections (Aug. '03)	579.18 KB
Issue 14: Focus Groups (May '03)	334.74 KB
Issue 13: Civic Forum (Nov. '02)	279.56 KB
Issue 12: Coalition Building (Jan. '02)	195.45 KB
Issue 11: Assessment Methods (Aug. '01)	84.74 KB
Issue 10: Partnership Approaches (April '01)	109.87 KB
Issue 9: What's Voting All About? (Oct. '99)	82.5 KB
Issue 8: Global Seminar on Advocacy and Democracy Development (June '99)	481.85 KB
Issue 7: How Civic Programs Increase Women's Participation in Processes (Dec. '98)	962.34 KB
Issue 6: Post-Conflict and Ethnic Divided Societies (July '98)	120.75 KB
Issue 5: Assessing Programs (March '98)	81.99 KB
Issue 4: Training (Nov. '97)	98.85 KB
Issue 3: Resources and Communication (July '97)	74.43 KB
Issue 2: Advocacy (April '97)	94.31 KB
Issue 1: Program Highlights from Around the World (Feb. '97)	121.71 KB