Contribution to Fair and Free Local Elections 2013
The contribution to three Civil Society Organisations (CSO) aims at promoting fair and free local elections in Macedonia in 2013. The campaigns shall be supporting an atmosphere of fair, free and non-violent elections and at increasing the number of female candidates at the mayoral elections. In addition, the campaigns include the promotion of public debates between mayoral candidates, activities related to prevent the use of weapons and violence during the election campaign and on the voting day, and monitoring of the voting process.
| Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Macedonia |
Conflict & fragility Conflict prevention and transformation
Conflict prevention
|
10.12.2012
- 30.09.2013 |
CHF 500’000
|
- Other international or foreign NGO North
- Citizen’s Organization MOST Center for Freedom - CIVIL National Democratic Institute - NDI
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution
Cross-cutting topics The project takes account of democratisation, good governance and human rights as cross-cutting themes.
Type of support Official development assistance (ODA)
Type of collaboration Bilateral cooperation
Finance type Aid grant
Aid Type Project and programme contribution
Tied/untied aid Untied aid
Project number 7F08574
| Background |
Macedonia’s elections are considered as one of the most troublesome and challenging in the region and therefore every election cycle is followed by very intensive international monitoring, organized by OSCE/ODIHR as well as by local observers. In previous elections large number of irregularities were observed that lead OSCE/ODIR to recommend electoral reforms in its report after the Early Parliamentary Elections 2011. The government has taken it up, though the process is still ongoing. The topic is also included as part of the High Level Accession Dialogue with the European Commission, which started recently, aiming at boosting the EU reform processes. |
| Objectives |
The overall goal of the proposed three projects is to contribute to fair and democratic elections, to prevent violence during the election campaign and the election day, as well as to contribute to the improvement of the overall electoral conduct of the political parties in Macedonia. |
| Target groups |
The direct target groups are political parties and candidates participating in the local elections and citizens with voter’s right in Macedonia. Specifically the project will target approximately 1.5 million registered voters and approximately 800 candidates, including around 50 women candidates. |
| Medium-term outcomes |
Improvement of the local electoral environment and raising awareness among political parties, activists, communities and voters about the importance of fair, free and violence free elections, and the increased number of female mayoral candidates. |
| Results |
Results from previous phases: The relevance of the role of independent observers in the election process, is illustrated in the OSCE/ODIHR reports and shows a positive influence of domestic observers on the quality of the electoral process. According to an OSCE/ODIHR report, “if an observer from the CSO MOST was present in a polling station, the overall assessment was more positive (6 per cent negative reports by OSCE/ODIHR) than when a representative of MOST was not present (11 per cent negative reports)”. |
| Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
| Credit area |
Swiss cooperation with Eastern Europe |
| Project partners |
Contract partner International or foreign NGO |
| Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 500’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 486’403 |
| Project phases |
Phase 1 10.12.2012 - 30.09.2013 (Completed) |
