Political Context
Slovakia's 2002 parliamentary election campaign was notable for its lack of major ethics violations and manipulation of the media - a stark contrast to the 1998 campaign. Although Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HzDS) garnered the largest bloc of votes (19.5 percent), four moderate parties on the center-right formed a collective majority and forged the governing coalition. The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) now leads the government, with Mikulas Dzurinda retaining his role as Prime Minister. This marks the first instance in Central Europe of a pro-reform government being returned to office for consecutive terms.

Broad public dissatisfaction with the governing coalition, however, has risen. A majority of Slovaks believe that their expectations have not been met. Significant legislation is needed to prepare for EU accession slated for 2004, much of which has the potential to reduce the popularity of the government still further. Electoral codes, party finance laws, and regulation of the media all need to be reformed, as do such social services as healthcare. A referendum on EU membership due in May is expected to pass. Signatures are being collected to force a referendum on NATO membership as popular opposition to the government's support for the war in Iraq has diminished support for NATO, at least temporarily.

Political Party Communication
NDI has launched a program, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, to improve political party communication in the inter-election period. The parties in government devote most of their energy to Ministries they control, resulting in a 'brain drain' at party headquarters and a loss of organizational momentum since the election. NDI is working with party caucuses in parliament, party headquarters, and key party branches, on addressing the traditional lack of activity between elections, particularly improving external and internal communication, and communication within the governing coalition. The goals are to help parties make full use of the resources available, including Parliamentary assistants and other staff in the Parliament and the regions; to develop active dialogue with the electorate through national and local media and direct voter contact; and to promote internal party democracy by encouraging regular and frequent communication within the parties at all levels.

Election Monitoring and Voter Education
In 1998, NDI supported efforts by Slovak civic groups to monitor both the pre-election process and election day itself. NDI provided technical and financial support to Slovakia's Association for Fair Elections, which recruited, trained, and deployed more than 1,700 volunteers to monitor polling sites. NDI facilitated a nonpartisan media monitoring initiative, conducted by MEMO'98, which, in a series of press conferences and reports, drew public attention to problems in state and independent broadcast and print media, and revealed strong quantitative and qualitative biases in the state-run television.

Youth in Politics
Since May 2000, NDI promoted Slovakia's next generation of leaders by strengthening party youth organizations and expanding and institutionalizing an internship program in parliament. NDI works with active party leaders and regional youth organizations to develop the leadership, party organizing and communication skills necessary to attract new members, expand contact with voters, strengthen coordination with senior party members, and encourage the youth vote. In preparation for elections, NDI worked with a core group of 60 active party youth leaders on campaign management; fundraising; recruitment; party branch development; communications; voter outreach; voter contact and mobilization; and election-day simulation. In the immediate lead-up to elections, NDI increasingly focused on assisting party youth organizations and their senior counterparts to develop and implement coordinated electoral strategies and encourage voter participation.

Five youth leaders trained by NDI were elected to parliament. Others were successful on the local level, where they were elected local councilors. The recently named spokesman to the Interior Minister is another NDI program graduate, and other ministry press departments hired NDI graduates as well. Some have assumed more senior full-time positions within their parties.

Women and Roma
In April 2002, NDI began working with women and members of the Roma community to stimulate greater participation in the election process. Building on its work with party youth activists, the Institute trained women political activists and candidates in election-related skills and conducted focus group research to assess women's attitudes and assist parties in developing strategies to target this audience in the lead-up to parliamentary elections. NDI works in cooperation with Roma community organizations to provide Roma political activists with information about electoral procedure for competing and participating in elections, trained candidates for local elections, and to further efforts to reduce corrupt electoral practices, promote voter awareness and empowerment, and encourage greater participation in the political process.

Contact Information
For more information on NDI's Slovakia programs, please contact:

Erin Mathews in Washington, D.C. at 202-728-5667 or Zuzana Dzurikova
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Updated July 2003