Kosovo Civil Society Project (KCSP)

NGO Coalition Ensures Accountability and Transparency of Kosovo Election

Voters at the voting booth on
November 17, 2007.

On November 17, 2007, as the citizens of Kosovo voted in parliamentary and local elections organized for the first time by Kosovars rather than by the international community, a coalition of local NGOs played a key role in ensuring the transparency and accountability of the electoral process. The coalition of 10 NGOs, known as “Democracy in Action – Election 2007,” was led by the Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED) and supported by a grant from IREX as part of the USAID-funded Kosovo Civil Society Project (KCSP).

During the run-up to the elections, a team of 10 regional coordinators and 71 long-term observers monitored the campaigns and tracked media coverage. In addition, KIPRED conducted training for poll workers and commissioned independent policy research, including a survey on voter attitude towards politicians, political parties, and the voting process itself. Meanwhile, KIPRED’s coalition partners conducted extensive voter outreach across Kosovo, including producing “get out the vote” advertisements for television and in newspapers and distributing T-shirts, flyers, and packs of sugar to encourage the citizens of Kosovo to vote.

On Election Day, the coalition organized 2,548 observers to monitor voting at polls across Kosovo and conduct a parallel vote count. Their presence added accountability and transparency to the voting process and reduced the possibility of electoral fraud. For the first time, the parallel vote count operated in real time thanks to the use of SMS messages. The coalition set up a Media Center, where results sent by SMS from election monitors in the field were posted on two large screens. The parallel vote results were broadcast live on all major national TV and radio stations, as well as on international channels such as CNN and the BBC. Many political party representatives who were interested in the parallel vote results stopped by the Media Center as well.

Coalition efforts were critical to the success of the elections, which the Council of Europe’s election observation mission characterized as “generally in line with Council of Europe principles, as well as international and European standards for democratic elections” in a press release. The simultaneous parallel vote count was particularly effective in publicizing anticipated results early and thus reducing the possibility of fraud.

Following the election, the coalition prepared two publications – an analysis of general electoral trends and a final report on media monitoring. Both reports were presented on March 3, 2008, at a conference organized by KIPRED and “Democracy in Action – Election 2007”. The conference was divided into three panels and was attended by key stakeholders, including representatives of the major political parties and officials from the Central Election Commission (CEC) that organized the 2007 election and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that organized previous elections and assisted the CEC with the 2007 election, as well as political and media analysts. The publications and conference spurred discussion that will continue as Kosovo plans future elections.