You are here » Home » Telling Our Story
Case Study
After Kosovo's first
open ballot elections,
27 mayors respond to
constituents
Holding Elected Officials Accountable
Photo: Balkan Investigative
The Mayor of Viti/Vitina Municipality
(Mr. Nexhmedin Arifi, on stage) updates
citizens on progress toward his campaign
promises during nationally televised
debate.
The USAID-supported
initiative provided citizens
of Kosovo with an
opportunity to hold elected
officials accountable for
their promises and their
performance.
Challenge
Kosovo’s first open list municipal elections in which citizens
could vote for individual candidates as opposed to only choosing
a party, took place in November 2007. Voters and mayoral
candidates participated actively in public debates leading up to
the election. These debates were well-received, effective,
and a strong example of direct democracy in action.
However, few mechanisms were in place to track and
discuss fulfi llment of campaign promises made during the
mayors' tenures.
Initiative
Several months after the local elections a series
of nationally televised debates, called “Life in the
Municipality” aired. The debates provided a forum
for citizens to check on progress toward the mayors’
campaign promises but the debates required prior
research in measuring the one-year performance of
mayors in their posts. Through USAID’s support the local
organization producing the debates was able to conduct
thorough investigative research in the municipalities, which
served as a great mechanism for measuring the one-year
performance of mayors that was discussed at the municipal
public debates.
Results
Reacting to inquiries during the investigation and in anticipation
of the televised discussion, mayors initiated a flurry of actions
on their campaign promises, including a road repair project
that began in Deqan/Decani; placement of waste baskets in
the village of Bardhosh in Fushe Kosovë/Kosovo Polje; and
new desks purchased and brought to a school in Novobërd/
Novobrdo.
In addition, citizens and municipal personnel report
increased responsiveness on the part of the mayors and
local administration. The USAID-supported initiative provided
citizens of Kosovo with an opportunity to hold elected officials
accountable for their promises and their performance.
Print-friendly version of this page (533kb - PDF)
Click here for high-res photo
Back to Top ^
|
RSS Feed for Recent Telling Our Story Updates
