NDI - Slovakia

Slovakia Elects First Roma Representative to Parliament

fstovall — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:03:28 +0000

Slovakia made history in April when Peter Pollak took his seat in parliament as the country’s first Roma citizen elected to nationwide office. His victory in March’s parliamentary elections is the culmination of a decade-long journey of grassroots organizing, coalition building and setbacks at the ballot box that ultimately, through perseverance and support, paved the way to his breakthrough this year.

After the election, NDI sat down with him to discuss his journey to parliament.

Pollak campaigns in Rudnany Settlement.

In a region where Roma are treated as second-class citizens, with few opportunities to escape poverty and reverse centuries of discrimination and isolation, Pollak’s victory is a testament to his resilience. In Slovakia, Roma, who have been largely excluded from the political arena, make up an estimated 8 to 10 percent of the country’s 5.4 million citizens.

His first campaign attempt was in 2005 regional elections, but his path to politics began several years earlier. In 2001, he participated in NDI’s youth leadership academies, designed to promote political participation by young people, and he became actively involved with the Institute after the launch of its regional Roma political participation program in 2004. Engagement in NDI’s activities equipped Pollak with the knowledge and skills to take the next steps in his political career. Moreover, he was able to connect with like-minded activists in Slovakia and around the region.

During the 2005 campaign he conducted the first ever door-to-door campaign in segregated Roma settlements with a team of more than 70 volunteers.

In 2009, Pollak ran again, unsuccessfully, for the regional government. But his campaign efforts increased his visibility among both Roma and non-Roma communities – an important step in his political future.

His last unsuccessful bid for elective office came in 2010 parliamentary elections, when he was a candidate on the list of a mainstream political party, Most/Hid, which ran on the platform of inclusion and support for minorities.

When the government collapsed last fall, new elections were scheduled for March, and Pollak had another chance. This time, he joined a new political movement – Ordinary People, Independent Personalities (OLaNO) – to take a top-10 spot on its party list. When OLaNO won 16 seats on March 10, Pollack was among them.

After the election, NDI sat down with him to discuss his journey to parliament.

You grew up in a segregated Roma settlement in Levoca (north central Slovakia). Living in this environment, there is little opportunity for education and advancement and limited access to resources. How were you able to overcome these constraints to complete your secondary education and university degree?

My parents, although living in a poor and not very inspiring environment, always led me to value education and hard work. I was lucky to attend elementary school in my town and most of my classmates were non-Roma kids. After finishing high school, I had to work hard manual labor to make a living and support my family – as did many of my peers. But, with the support of my family and education, I was able to overcome limits and attain a university degree.

What was the motivation for your civic and political activism?

Like many other young Roma, I realized that I have limited opportunities because of the fact that I am a Roma. I always wanted to change that. I refused the fate and life path that a racist society would draw for me. I tried various ways to change the situation until I realized that the best means of positive change dwells in political participation and Roma must reach elected offices.

"I tried various ways to change the situation until I realized that the best means of positive change dwells in political participation and Roma must reach elected office."

On March 10, you were elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic, becoming the first Roma member of parliament in Slovak history. However, this was not your first campaign. You ran for regional office in Kosice in 2005 and 2009, and for national parliament in 2010. What changed in this election campaign that enabled you to win?

This campaign was different because for the first time we had a full-time campaign manager. For the first time, because of our fundraising, we were able to pay this person so he could dedicate all of his time to our campaign. We also improved at identifying our potential voters, which enabled us to target our messages more effectively. This time we mostly focused on the Roma middle class, with the exception of a few settlements where I have a good reputation and solid support, in contrast to our previous campaigns when we targeted Roma from segregated settlements. The main reason for this decision was that the middle-class Roma are not easily manipulated during the elections. They are not targets of vote-buying, thus are more reliable as voters.

We used every opportunity to talk to middle-class Roma. For example, we attended Roma dance balls – February is a popular month for balls. During these events we had a chance to communicate with many Roma who were leaders of their communities, successful entrepreneurs and authorities. In these balls we altered our door-to-door campaign to be a table-to-table campaign and it worked very well.

We also designed campaign strategies to target non-Roma.

"My previous campaigns gave me a strong and supportive team of volunteers who knew what to do and how to do it."

One of the key factors of our success was the support from the Ordinary People, Independent Personalities (OLaNO) party. The president of the party expressed his public support to me and this gesture created strong interest from national and regional media, which gave me a chance to present my messages. This also helped us fundraise more efficiently. For example, we advertised for free in regional advertising magazines that reach 1.5 million households in Slovakia, and enjoyed interviews and free advertising on the radio.

However, without my previous three campaigns I would not have been elected. My previous campaigns gave me a strong and supportive team of volunteers who knew what to do and how to do it. I systematically worked with my team over seven years and built support among my voters.

In this campaign, you ran on the list of a mainstream political party and you received many non-Roma votes. How do you see cooperation of Roma politicians and activists with non-Roma parties and mainstream politics on the local, regional and national level?

Roma are a heterogeneous group with many differences and therefore it is very difficult for a Roma ethnic political party to be successful. A Roma political party can succeed only if it is able to get non-Roma votes. More and more Roma try to find their place in mainstream political parties, but in the past they were not very successful. One of the reasons I was elected to the parliament is the fact that a strong mainstream party – though new and not very traditional – put me in a high position on the electoral list and supported me as a Roma candidate publically.

NDI’s regional Roma political participation program in Central and Eastern Europe is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy. The initiative seeks to increase Roma political participation by equipping Roma civic and political activists with the skills to advocate for policies to improve the lives of marginalized groups, effectively represent their communities, run well-organized campaigns and share their expertise with emerging activists in their country and neighboring states.

Published April 23, 2012

Hans Zimmer Adds Gypsy Flavor to 'Sherlock Holmes' Score | Jan. 6, 2012

fstovall — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:08:45 +0000

LA Times | Link to story »

As a certain British super-sleuth might observe, there was nothing elementary about the path that Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer took to bring Gypsy folk music into his soundtrack for "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows."

Accompanied by two NDI representatives, Zimmer and his colleagues visited a number of Slovakia's Roma settlements and met with local politicians. "We get to this village and it's like out of the 12th century," Zimmer recalled of one stop. "There is no running water, there's no electricity."

Link to story »

Democracy Activists Pay Tribute to Václav Havel and His Ideals

fstovall — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:16:21 +0000

Political dissidents from China, Syria, Iran, Ethiopia, Cuba and Burma joined NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright and others to pay tribute to the life and work of Václav Havel at the National Endowment for Democracy. Havel, a playwright and political activist who went on to become the president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, died last month at the age of 75.

The tributes emphasized Havel's empathy with those living under authoritarianism, his warm humor, his great intellect, and his constant striving to "live in truth," a major theme of his seminal work The Power of the Powerless.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's democracy movement, sent a video message paying tribute to her long-time friend. She recounted that two days after Havel's death, a letter arrived from him offering his continued support to her and to the democracy movement in Burma. Noting that it was written only days before he died, "it was a surprise that he had remembered us at a time when he was so ill," she said.

Similarly, Li Xiaorong, a Chinese democracy activist, recalled seeing Havel deliver a letter to the Chinese embassy in Prague in January of 2010 demanding the fair trial and release of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. Though the winter was particularly hard on Havel due to his illness, Li said, his concern for Liu Xioabo outweighed concerns for his own well being. "Havel speaks directly to us," she said. "We always felt that he knows intimately what a dissident writer like Liu Xiaobo faces as he or she criticizes a powerful authoritarian regime and tries to speak the truth."

Birtukan Midekssa, who is often referred to as the Aung San Suu Kyi of Ethiopia, said that she identifies with the humble green grocer in The Power of the Powerless who becomes a dissident by refusing to live the lie of authoritarianism. Havel provided "a narrative of struggle" that helped sustain her during her long periods in solitary confinement as a political prisoner.

Albright, a friend of the Czech president, recalled both personal and public moments she shared with Havel. "I recall especially the night he played host to President Clinton at the Reduta jazz club in Prague, shaking maracas and a tambourine while Clinton tried out the new saxophone that Havel had given him," she said. She also spoke of Havel's humility and his optimism. "He had an unshakeable confidence in certain basic principles about how we humans should treat one another, and about the proper relationship between citizens and the state."

President Obama and the Dalai Lama, unable to attend the memorial, sent statements in praise of Havel and his work.

Related:

Published Jan. 11, 2012

Remarks by Madeleine K. Albright at the NED Memorial Tribute to Václav Havel

fstovall — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:05:07 +0000

Author:

Madeleine K. Albright

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/06/2012

Resource Type:

Speech

Language:

English

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NDI Mourns the Passing of Václav Havel

fstovall — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:09:58 +0000

NDI mourns the passing of former Czech President Václav Havel. The Institute recognized Havel in 1991 with its W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, honoring him for his years as a dissident, political essayist and leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989 — the bloodless end to communism in Czechoslovakia.

“Václav Havel leaves our world better for having been a part of it,” said NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright, a Czech-born friend of the playwright and political leader. “Amid the turbulence of modern Europe, his voice was the most consistent and compelling — endlessly searching for the best in himself and in each of us.”

When asked in an interview if he wanted to be remembered as a politician or playwright, Havel replied that he “would like to say that he was a playwright who acted as a citizen, and thanks to that he later spent a part of his life in a political position.”

It is fitting that he tied his legacy to the concept of citizenship, a core component of democracy, and to the importance of creating a strong civil society. In his 1978 essay, The Power of the Powerless, Havel called it the “independent life of society,” and believed it formed the basis of political action.

His words resonated decades ago behind the Iron Curtain, and today find expression and relevance among new forces of civil and political activism. Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi often quotes that most famous essay.

Following his time in office, Havel could have rested on his accomplishments and celebrity status, and retired gracefully from the world stage. Instead, he chose to serve actively as a voice of conscience and a force of solidarity for those who today suffer and sacrifice for their democratic ideals as he once did. He was a passionate believer in the notion that the individual can make a difference. “The cry of freedom, the free action of a person is the most important,” he once said. “It is the first nail in the coffin of a system based on a lie.”

This explained, in part, his tireless efforts on behalf of courageous individuals, such as Aung San Suu Kyi and Oswaldo Payá of Cuba, who struggle against tremendous odds to advance peaceful democratic change. “I remember vividly what the support of the democratic world meant for me when I was persecuted and imprisoned,” President Havel told the Prague Post. “I feel obligated to repay this debt to those who are in a similar situation now.”

“We at NDI will always honor his legacy,” said Kenneth Wollack, president of the Institute.

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Published December 19, 2011

Hans Zimmer Collaborates with Roma Musicians on New Film Score

fstovall — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:52:57 +0000

When Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer set out to write the score for the new Sherlock Holmes film, he knew he wanted to collaborate with Roma musicians. With NDI’s assistance, Zimmer visited Roma towns and settlements, primarily in Eastern Slovakia. Roma, sometimes called Gypsies, are virtually unrepresented in government, and therefore enjoy very few of the benefits other Europeans take for granted.

Hans Zimmer visits with Roma musicians in Zehra, Slovakia.

When Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer set out to write the score for the new Sherlock Holmes film, he knew he wanted to collaborate with Roma musicians. "I went there to find musicians we can work with," Zimmer recently told the Huffington Post. "Not out of a sense of authenticity, partly because of inspiration, and partly because every time I heard a recording from these people, it just sounded different, it sounded like stuff I couldn't do in Hollywood or London."

With NDI’s assistance, Zimmer visited Roma towns and settlements, primarily in Eastern Slovakia. Roma, sometimes called Gypsies, are virtually unrepresented in government, and therefore enjoy very few of the benefits other Europeans take for granted. "If you're a Roma kid and you want to go to school, because your settlement is so far from your school, you have to take the bus, but because there is only unemployment, you can't afford to get the bus," Zimmer explained. "So it's this vicious circle where you can't afford to get an education because you can't afford the bus fare. The housing is beyond anything I've ever seen." Read more»

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Published Dec. 15, 2011

Academy Award Winner Explores Living Conditions of Roma in Visit to Slovakia

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:47:39 +0000

As a boy in Germany, Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer heard about the “romantic music and fairy tales of Gypsy life.” But he wasn’t satisfied with the stories and wanted to learn more about the Roma people and their plight.

An opportunity came last year when Zimmer, a long-time human rights advocate, heard about the deportation of Roma migrants from France and wanted to help. His interest led him to NDI, which has been working for the past decade to empower Roma activists in Central and Eastern Europe.

Hans Zimmer visits with Roma musicians in Zehra, Slovakia.

After producing a YouTube video for NDI in honor of International Day of Roma on April 8, Zimmer felt it was of paramount importance to see, firsthand, the living conditions in Roma settlements and to visit with Roma children who attend segregated schools. He also wanted to explore the traditions and culture of Roma musicians as well as hear their music. So last month, with NDI’s assistance, he did exactly that.

Zimmer visited towns and settlements, primarily in Eastern Slovakia, accompanied by the director of his philanthropic Remote Control foundation, Bonnie Abaunza, and members of his sound and editing crew. His daughter Zoe, a professional photographer and supporter of human rights causes, joined the trip to take pictures for an international exhibit on Roma that will open in Los Angeles this fall.

The six-member delegation spoke with those working to help Roma gain political representation to address the urgent housing, health and educational needs of children. During the four-day visit, Zimmer and the team met with NDI partners and program graduates, including activists, community leaders, municipal councilors, members of parliament, ministry officials, journalists, educators and students.

The group visited ramshackle settlements built over abandoned mines that are now collapsing, as well as newly-constructed public housing that has improved the lives of numerous Roma families.

In the town of Rudnany, in eastern Slovakia they met one of three Roma who were elected to the city council last year – for the first time in the city’s history – and who are learning to govern effectively with assistance from NDI. They talked with Roma in the town of Zehra, where non-Roma residents, who are in the minority, want to formally secede from the municipality.

They also visited with young activists and Romani children at community centers in Spisske Podhradie and Roskovce. The latter is among four municipalities participating in a newly-launched NDI project focusing on multi-ethnic cooperation among youth. In each community, the group delivered toys and school supplies for the children.

Because of Zimmer’s interest in Romani music, they also listened to and recorded local musicians playing traditional Romani songs, hoping to incorporate their sound into a future film soundtrack.

"It was a privilege to meet the Roma people, who were welcoming and opened their homes to us.” Zimmer said. “I enjoyed spending time with such talented musicians and with NDI-trained activists who have committed themselves to advance the interests of their communities through the political process."

Among the highlights was an outdoor concert in Ostrovany by Romani musician and activist Vlado Sendrei. Almost two years ago, the government of Ostrovany funded construction of a wall to separate the Roma, who comprise two thirds of the local population, from the rest of the town.

Before leaving Slovakia, the delegation briefed U.S. Ambassador Theodore Sedgwick on their initial thoughts and findings. The Institute’s programming in Slovakia is funded through the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Related:

Published August 17, 2011

Václav Havel Receives the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award

fstovall — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:18:22 +0000

Author:

Kenneth Wollack

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

02/20/2007

Resource Type:

Speech

Language:

English

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Questions arise over chances of new Roma political party in Slovakia | Jan. 9, 2011

fstovall — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:35:22 +0000

Romea | Link to story »

"A new political party, the Roma Union Party in Slovakia (Strana Romské unie na Slovensku - SRUS), will enter the political scene next week. This information from party commissioner and Roma Union chair František Tanko raises the issue once again of the political viability of parties based solely on ethnicity.

"Tomáš Hrustič of the National Democratic Institute says Roma parties could play a significant role in local and regional politics. 'However, they must have functional, high-quality structures at local and regional level and a high-quality member base,' Hrustič told the SITA agency."

Link to story »

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Slovak Republic: New Roma Political Party Is Registered In Slovakia »

Center-Right Political Party Youth Leaders Gather from across the Balkans to Form Political Network

fstovall — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:24:50 +0000

As ethnic divisions ease in the Balkans, political parties across the spectrum are finding the need for new approaches that focus on thoughtful policy debate rather than personality and ethnicity. Young leaders in particular will play an important role in these changes.

In partnership with the VMRO-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), NDI co-hosted a meeting Feb. 5-7 of 35 young leaders from center-right Balkan political parties. At the meeting in Skopje, Macedonia, participants focused on how to attract youth to conservative values in the 21st century as well as how to tackle a wide range of issues, including those not traditionally seen as conservative.

The young people displayed an enthusiasm to leave behind the Balkans' troubled past of ethnic divisions to "set an example of multi-cultural integration and cooperation," in the words of a declaration signed at the conclusion of the meeting by the young political leaders.

Perspective at the meeting was provided by speakers from conservative parties from elsewhere in Europe who had experience with these issues. For example, Rob Thomas, from the British Conservative International Office, described the conservative experience in the United Kingdom (UK) in the early 1990s trying to modernize the party, reformulate policy and integrate new public communications techniques.

UK conservatives, he noted, began to tackle issues that were not traditionally seen as conservative — such as the environment, health care and social justice — while adhering to European conservative beliefs in a strong government, individual and economic liberty, and thriving civil society. The discussion concluded that conservative ideas of liberty, opportunity and choice should be attractive to young people and need to be presented as dynamic and forward-looking, supporting change and reform.

NDI enlisted Lucinda Creighton, a conservative member of parliament in Ireland, who spoke about her experience as a youth leader in the Fine Gael party and activist in the Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP). A spokesman for the Junge Union of the German Christian Democrat Union (CDU) also presented.

At the end of the two-day meeting, the participants co-signed the declaration to establish a network of young, center-right political leaders in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The international secretaries of the parties' youth wings will coordinate regular communications to promote youth engagement on policy development.

The development of such regional networks to share experience and best practices is part of NDI's regional initiative to support political parties in southeastern Europe. NDI assists parties in the development of policy platforms that are based on ideology and represent citizens' interests. NDI has worked with mainstream parties of the left, center and right in the Balkans for more than 15 years, helping them build organizations, bring new people into politics, contest elections responsibly and work in parliament on behalf of constituents.

These political parties are striving to provide leadership as their countries move toward membership in the European Union. They face the simultaneous challenge of articulating their political identity and applying it to policy and reform initiatives, while tackling persistent issues like corruption, the economy and unemployment.

NDI conducts its regional political party initiative with the goal of helping parties in the Balkans learn from each other and from sister parties around Europe on their roles in contemporary Europe. The initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and has active support from a variety of European party foundations. The British Conservative International Office and the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung joined NDI and VMRO as co-sponsors of the event.

Building on participant engagement on ideological discussion and the need for regional networking, NDI will support these center-right party youth organizations as they work toward common priorities and promote youth engagement on policy issues. The Institute will also use discussions at such gatherings to support center-right partners as they work to articulate ideology and pursue policy reforms.

Picture above: Gerti Bogdani (second from left) is the youngest member in the Albanian Parliament. He built popularity as a mayor of a sub-municipality in the capital of Tirana by addressing constituent needs. In Skopje, Bogdani discussed how his Democratic Party (DP) gathers youth supporters and their proposed education policy reforms in Albania. He sits next to fellow speaker Lucinda Creighton (far left) also the youngest Member of Parliament in Ireland.

Published March 11, 2010

Roma Making Political Strides in Bulgaria and Slovakia

fstovall — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:17:48 +0000

The largest ethnic minority in Central and Eastern Europe, Roma continue to face discrimination and marginalization due to poverty, social ills and, in many cases, physical isolation. They are significantly underrepresented in mainstream political parties, hold few elected offices and have been unable to use political channels to solve many economic and social problems that affect their communities. NDI has been working with local candidates and political parties throughout the region in an effort to help Roma secure more equal political representation at all levels of government.

In Bulgaria, political parties are reaching out to the country's Roma communities with the help of the Open Society Institute, the Alumni Club of Romani Parliamentary Interns and NDI.

After a multi-party conference last summer helped raise awareness of Roma issues, about 15 Roma candidates were included on party lists during parliamentary elections in July. One of the candidates, Milena Hristova, a 29-year-old Roma politician from the Evroroma party, won a seat in parliament, becoming the first Roma woman MP in the region.

The conference also prompted some of the parties to sign agreements for cooperation: the incumbent Bulgarian Socialist Party with the ROMA and Evroroma parties and the Blue Coalition with the Shtit party. Citizens for European Bulgaria (GERB), which won the elections, signed a memorandum with 12 Roma NGOs and adopted their recommendations for a new strategy to tackle Roma problems in a holistic manner. Recognizing the complexity of the Roma's problems, the parties are taking steps to reach out to Romani activists and community leaders to find the most comprehensive solutions.

NDI continues to work with Roma activists, providing follow-up monitoring with the political parties and advocacy on Roma issues after the elections. The activists' involvement in two events this fall — the drafting of the new government's four-year program and the drafting of the state budget for 2010 — is particularly important. The promises GERB made on Roma issues during the campaign are not reflected in the four-year plan, so it will be essential to secure funding to ensure the Roma's proposed programs are actually implemented.

In Slovakia, Roma candidates from across the country came together in August to learn from each other and from former Roma candidates as they prepare to run in Nov. 14 regional parliamentary elections. As part of NDI's Roma Regional Initiative, NDI staff held regional election team trainings in August in the districts of Spisska Nova Ves, Poltar and Bardejov. The programs focused on how to build campaign teams on cooperation and communication among the Roma candidates.

Alumni of previous NDI training programs Peter Pollak and Stefan Sarkozy led the training sessions along with Tomas Hrustic, a staff member in NDI's Slovakia office. Pollak, a prominent Roma candidate from Spisska Nova Ves, inspired the other participants with stories from his 2005 campaign in which he fell short of winning a seat in parliament by less than 200 votes.

The trainings corresponded with the outbreak of anti-Roma protests in eastern Slovakia, which participants said made them particularly relevant. Program participants said they thought it was important to demonstrate how Roma candidates can unite in order to represent Roma on the local as well as regional level.

Building on the momentum of the August trainings, the four Slovak Roma candidates and their teams continue to participate in trainings led by NDI, with support from the Roma Public Policy Institute (RPPI). In September, NDI held a seminar for the candidates and select members of their teams on the use of media and graphic design as marketing tools for the campaign. In October, NDI program officers traveled to four districts to work with the candidates and their campaign teams on direct communication with the voters. With their new campaign skills and strategies, the Roma candidates are hoping to win seats in the coming November elections.

Read "Assessment of Barriers to Roma Political Participation in Romania," NDI's report on Roma political participation»

Related: Read NDI's assessment of barriers to Roma political participation in Romania»

Pictured above: Albin Cina talks to his campaign team members and local leaders in Snakov, Slovakia

Published November 2, 2009

Slovak Local Elections

fstovall — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:34:35 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

12/01/2006

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

English

Media Type:

PDF

The December local elections in Slovakia resulted in a significant increase both in the number of municipalities in which Roma ran as candidates and the number of Roma candidates elected to local office. This increase is in large part due to direct candidate training and recruitment by NDI and its program graduates, as well as the increased attention paid to the need for Roma political participation.

English

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NDI Expert Explores “Semi-Presidentialism” in Central and Eastern Europe

ggreene — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:27:42 +0000

As co-editor of the recently published book Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe, Sophia Moestrup, NDI senior program manager for Central and West Africa, examines the effects of “semi-presidentialism,” on democratization in the region since 1990. “Semi-presidentialism” – a regime situation where there is a directly elected president as well as a prime minister responsible to the legislature – exists in more than half of all Central and Eastern European countries.

With a collection of essays on Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, Moestrup and co-editor Robert Elgie of Dublin City University explore whether some forms of semi-presidentialism are more conducive to democratization than others. They conclude that this form of governance has not had a positive impact on democratization in Central and Eastern Europe, due largely to friction between presidents and prime ministers as well as the democratic requirements for European Union membership that dictate any and all democratic reforms in the region.

Learn more: Read about Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe at the publisher's web site| Visit site »

Europe's Roma Gaining Political Rights

ggreene — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:13:14 +0000

Spread across Central and Eastern Europe, Roma suffer disproportionately from human rights discrimination, social segregation and economic impoverishment.

Sixteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, most citizens in Central and Eastern Europe have seen steady political and economic gains. However, the Roma—among the region’s largest minority—remain politically marginalized.

While international efforts focus on improving Roma living conditions, the issue of political participation has not been adequately addressed. It is, after all, the sole means by which Roma themselves can address their long-term community needs in such critical areas as housing, education, employment and healthcare.

For the past two years, NDI has helped Roma to increase their political participation. In Bulgaria, Macedonia and Slovakia, NDI is training new Roma leaders on public opinion research, issue advocacy, incorporation into mainstream political parties and outreach to Roma communities.

In April 2006 NDI convened its second Roma Regional Leadership Academy in Bucharest, Romania. The academy brought together emerging Roma leaders from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Academy participants reviewed how to developing strategic relationships with mainstream political parties; assess draft legislation with a view toward its impact on Roma communities; compare governmental National Action Plans for Roma throughout the region; and monitor the implementation of those plans.

Increasing political participation promises tangible benefits not just for Roma communities – who comprise nearly 10 percent of the population in some areas — but for the entire region. Continued political isolation of fast-growing Roma populations could threaten political stability in countries that are struggling to join the European Union. The full political enfranchisement of Roma — as voters, advocates, and elected officials — is vital to completing the region’s transition to democracy and ensuring political stability.

(Photo courtesy of the Milan Simecka Foundation)

–

Published on March 21, 2006

Zuzana Dzurikova Papazoski

ggreene — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Zuzana Dzurikova Papazoski is the resident director for NDI in Slovakia. Ms. Dzurikova manages NDI's Western Balkan Legislative Strengthening program, a multi-year effort to increase collaboration between the parliaments of Western and Central Europe and the Western Balkans through cross-border and regional exchanges from the Institute's office in Bratislava, Slovakia.

A long-time NDI staff member, Ms. Dzurikova previously oversaw the Institute's parliamentary program in Montenegro, where she worked extensively with helping the Montenegrin parliament develop and adopt new rules of procedures and structures that emphasized more transparency and accountability in national policymaking. She originally joined NDI in 2000, managing NDI's parliamentary program in her native Slovakia.

Ms. Dzurikova has demonstrated regional expertise through her work as a trainer, election monitor and legislative consultant in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine, as well as in efforts undertaken with UNDP, OSCE/ODIHR, UNMIK and Freedom House. She also has extensive experience providing strategic guidance to political parties, and has helped design several local and regional political campaigns.

Ms. Dzurikova was a co-founder, legal advisor and board member of Civic Eye/Obcianske Oko, a Bratislava-based domestic election monitoring and civic advocacy organization. Earlier, she was the project manager of youth election programs for the Association in Support of Local Democracy.

Ms. Dzurikova earned her master's in law from Comenius University in Bratislava. She is fluent in Czech, English and Slovak with a working knowledge of German and Serbo-Croatian.