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Macedonia’s peaceful local and presidential elections this spring were supported by a code of conduct campaign to rally political party leaders, candidates and voters in a united effort to prevent the violence and other misconduct that have marred previous elections. The spring polls were a critical test of Macedonia’s ability to hold elections consistent with international standards and to boost the country’s prospects for membership in the European Union.
In March and April, voters elected a new president and 85 municipal governments in a very different manner from snap parliamentary elections in June 2008 that saw campaign related violence result in one death and several injuries.
Drawing on lessons learned from similar campaigns in previous election cycles and centering on Macedonia’s quest for EU membership, the code of conduct campaign, designed by NDI, used the motto “Don’t Play with the Future!” It stressed the importance of democratic elections to potential EU membership, reminding voters and candidates alike of the public pledge made by all political leaders to respect democratic rules and of what was at stake for Macedonia’s future.
Macedonia has been an official EU candidate since 2005 but has yet to commence accession negotiations. The country also has met technical requirements for NATO membership, but its constitutional name dispute with Greece has precluded a formal invitation to join the alliance.
NDI and its partner, the Institute for Parliamentary Democracy (IPD), carried out the campaign with funding from the U.S., Swiss, and Czech governments, as well as support from the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
A nation of just over two million, Macedonia’s ethnically diverse population has made a complicated but promising transition to democracy. Independent since 1991, Macedonia stepped back from the brink of inter-ethnic war in 2001 through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which increased political and economic rights to the country’s sizable ethnic-Albanian minority. Since then, democratizing the country’s governing and political institutions, particularly parliament, to represent all of Macedonia’s citizens effectively, regardless of ethnic, gender, or other factors, has been a critical goal.
The code of conduct campaign called on party leaders, candidates, and activists to abstain from violent or intimidating acts, uphold the practice of one-person-one-vote, and refrain from vote-buying and other illegal use of financial and material resources for electoral gain.
Activities included hundreds of non-partisan code of conduct ads in Macedonian and Albanian language newspapers and on radio and television. Candidates literally incorporated the code, wearing “Don’t Play with the Future!” pins on their lapels and displaying the slogan on their campaign buses. Some 100 large billboards with the slogan lined the capital, Skopje, and major traffic arteries throughout the country.
At the municipal level, NDI and its civil society partners reached out directly to citizens, political parties, and other locally affiliated groups during dozens of community roundtable discussions and workshops. U.S. Ambassador Philip Reeker and his EU Member State counterparts participated in NDI meetings to reinforce the code’s message and to show support to those working for good elections.
Helped by the campaign, the elections were generally in compliance with Macedonia’s commitments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe. However, Macedonia’s leading nonpartisan election monitoring group, MOST, along with international observers, voiced concerns over partisan pressures visited upon public sector employees, persistent problems with improper proxy voting, and imbalances in state media coverage of the campaign in favor of the governing parties.
The candidate of the center-right governing party, Gjorgi Ivanov, was elected president in a run-off. Sixty-five of the 85 municipalities are also to be governed by the ruling coalition.
Since the elections, NDI has resumed its efforts to strengthen the legislative and oversight capabilities of the Macedonian National Assembly and to improve constituency relations through a network of NDI-assisted constituency offices located in municipalities across the country. NDI is also helping to improve connections between parliament and civil society organizations and increase their input in the legislative process. As with the code of conduct campaign, the Institute’s legislative work is intended to support those building transparency, accountability and inclusion into Macedonian politics.
Pictured above: A supporter of the electoral code of conduct campaign places a sticker on a pro-code of conduct billboard.
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Published on May 11, 2009
