Kosovo’s declared independence in 2008 has brought about significant changes to the country’s administration of elections, including the ability to conduct successful elections without foreign assistance.
Prior to 2008, elections were administered primarily by the international community, including UN, OSCE and IFES. Following the passage a new constitution in 2008, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has assumed the primary responsibility for administering the country’s elections and the international community is able to perform more of an advisory role to ensure that election processes are meeting international standards.
IFES conducted a technical assessment prior to the 2009 local elections to assist the CEC in increasing its management capacity and ownership of Kosovo’s election processes. The assessment showed the following factors would impede the CEC’s ability to conduct successful elections without the assistance and oversight it previously experienced: an unclear and inconsistent electoral law, an inaccurate voter list, low voter education, and limited capacity of the CEC. In an attempt to end the legacy of dependence on international interventions, IFES is supporting the CEC in addressing these weaknesses and building a sustainable election management body.
IFES has identified four areas of technical support to the electoral sector, including capacity building with the CEC.
First, the CEC needs to shift its approach from event-driven technical assistance to coherent programming through multiple election cycles. Instead of considering elections as independent events, they should be viewed as part of a much longer process that begins many months before Election Day and extends beyond the certification of results. From the perspective of the international community, the measure of success for an election should not be just how observers reported on the perceived legitimacy of the process and outcomes, but how much progress was made by the country’s electoral institutions and how sustainable that progress is. IFES technical advisors are helping to bridge the gap between electoral events by building local capacity.
Second, consistent and sound electoral legislation must be firmly in place. Prior to the CEC assuming responsibility for electoral administration, Kosovo experienced five rounds of elections between 2000 and 2007 that were conducted by international organizations. The election system changed during this period, most notably from closed to open list, from single votes to multiple votes, and from no gender quota to a 33% quota for assigned seats in the national and municipal assemblies. A Working Group on Elections (WGE) has been organized which is reviewing these and other provisions in the current election law. IFES has provided the WGE with an assessment of these issues, and will offer legislative drafting assistance for a new or amended law.
Third, an accurate list of voters is vital to the success of an election by determining who is eligible to vote, for organizing voters into polling centers on Election Day, and for planning election logistics. Shortcomings in a voter list can severely undermine the public’s faith in the final results, and potentially the overall democratic process. In Kosovo, public perception is that the voter list is riddled with problems, ranging from deceased and duplicate voters to incorrect voter records. IFES has prepared preliminary recommendations detailing some of the steps that should be taken to update Kosovo’s existing voter list. IFES is currently conducting a field audit of civil registry data for the voter list which will gauge the scale of problems in the list, and give CEC a clearer picture of the issues to address.
Finally, building the capacity of the election administration is vital to conducting successful future elections in Kosovo. Improving the organizational structure of the CEC and training members to better understand and perform their duties will enhance their ability to conduct elections competently and independently. To this end IFES will provide technical support to the CEC and targeted departments within the CEC secretariat to increase the capacity of their training, public information, legal and results tabulation divisions.
By working in partnership in these areas, CEC and IFES are committed to help ensure that 2011 Kosovo Assembly elections are transparent, well-managed and successful, with a sustainable foundation for future elections.
--The IFES Kosovo Team