NGOs AND THE ELECTIONS

Parliamentary Elections with wide NGO participation

As an organized form of legal and legitimate civic association, the NGOs appeared as active creators of their country’s future. More than one hundred non-governmental organizations are carrying out projects in Macedonia, in the context of the Parliamentary elections and they are supported by several foundations, international organizations and diplomatic missions – unfortunately, not by our Government (with the exception of one or two projects).

Marijana Ivanova

The fact that so many non-governmental organizations, through various activities (education, informing and motivating the citizens, projects for lobbying, etc) have taken part in the 2002 Parliamentary elections, contributes to the development of the civic awareness in Macedonia. The NGOs have shown awareness that they, as citizens, should take part in a process, such as the elections. Their mission is important since that process is going to determine the life of all citizens in Macedonia in the following four years.

As an organized form of legal and legitimate civic association, the NGOs appeared as active creators of their country’s future.

More than one hundred non-governmental organizations are carrying out projects in Macedonia, in the context of the Parliamentary elections and they are supported by several foundations, international organizations and diplomatic missions – unfortunately, not by our Government (with the exception of one or two projects). The biggest DONORS for the projects, which are related to the elections are: FOSIM, ISC, USAID, NDI, the Euro-Balkans Institute, the Norwegian, British, Swiss (SDC program), Canadian, Swedish and Austrian Embassies, as well as other organizations and institutions.

Organization for transparency

This year, the organization of the NGO sector is also specific – on the initiative of several associations, an NGO info-center has been established, the aim of which is to enable continual flow of information on the NGO activities to the mass media, as well as among NGOs themselves. The NGOs considered it necessary to present their activities that are going to be realized in the context of the Parliamentary elections in a transparent way.

The functioning of the Center is supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia, and several NGOs, such as the Media Development Center, Euro-Balkans, Citizens for Citizens Coalition, Macedonian Women Organizations Union and Macedonian Journalists’ Association are also involved with various forms of voluntary participation, equipment, etc.

A special Women Election Press-Center operates within the Center, too. It was established by the Euro-Balkans Institute with the support from the Swiss Development and Cooperation Program.

Informing

The NGO info-center, located at the cult cafe “Medium” in Skopje (opposite the Parliament building) is a place where press conferences, debates, round tables and other NGO activities take place almost every day, and from there, announcements are sent to the public and reviews on the NGO activities are distributed to the media.

This information can also be found on the web site www.mango.org.mk, and are distributed through the six regional information centers, which have been organized by the Macedonian Journalists’ Association.

Publishing activity

The NGOs have developed rich publishing activity related to the Parliamentary elections. The citizens have been presented educational and informative character literature, which explains to them their rights in general, the rights of the special categories of people (the handicapped, the prisoners, illiterate people, people who are doing the military service, the sick, the internally displaced...), then, the election process, how to vote, the monitoring, the campaign rules, the police and the monitors’ competences, the process of counting the votes and all the other moments of carrying out the election process.

Like never before (when it comes to elections), the citizens are offered brochures, leaflets, guides, videos, posters, cards and other material, the aim of which is to motivate, inform and educate the voters.



INTERVIEW: Vladimir Milcin, FOSIM executive director
New quality in our country’s political life

We have made a short interview with Mr. Vladimir Milcin, the Executive Director of the Foundation Open Society Institute - Macedonia, where we sublimed the latest events and topics related to the NGOs role in the election program. Mr. Milcin talks about the reasons for and the consequences of the increased NGO activity in the past period, about the obstructions of what he calls “new quality in our country’s political life”.

G.S. Do you agree that there is a much stronger flow of NGO activities for these elections in comparison to the previous ones? What is the reason for that?
V.M. I am convinced that these elections will be remembered for the greater NGO presence in the public and that is certainly a new quality in our country’s political life. Last year’s war has made it clear to the NGO sector that it must overcome the phases of disunity and the lack of coordination, if they want their voice to be heard. Macedonia found itself on the verge of abyss and the responsibility to undertake some steps could not have been avoided. The democracy in our country turns more and more into a so-called partycracy. The legitimacy of the government that will be elected in these elections could become crippled if not enough citizens come to vote and if the elections are not democratic and free. However, Macedonia needs a healthy democratic process where citizens would get the chance to express their free will.

G.S. In your opinion, why is the NGO and the formal and informal civic associations’ participation important in the election process?
V.M. Most of the system institutions in our country do not function. Those that do function, almost without exception, function as institutions of the parties. The society is divided, on the bases of ethnicity or party. The NGO sector successfully unites the citizens from different ethnicities. The citizen’s identity cannot be reduced to ethnic, party or religious belonging. We have already learned that it is not healthy to leave the public affairs to the parties. The NGO participation in the election process is an expression of the new government’s determination, whatever that would be, to be under continuous civic monitoring.

G.S. Why does it bother the government, when it stood for transparency, strengthening the civic society, cooperation with the NGOs, etc?
V.M. Unfortunately, our government demonstrates an unhealthy amount of narcissism and intolerance for any kind of criticism. It has ears only for applauses and flattering which come from the well paid persons. The government tried to discipline and silence all those who consider that citizens should train severity, and not servility towards it. The same thing was happening to the delegates who had left the parties from the ruling coalition, to the media that were expressing criticism, business people who opposed to the “party economy”. The resistance was growing as the abyss between the government words and their deeds was disclosing. Many efforts sank in that abyss, even that for cooperation between the ruling parties and the NGO.

G.S. Some people explain the increased intensity of the NGO presence as inclining of the NGO sector to one or another political option. How would you comment on this?
V.M. It is an expression of the “ this or that”, or “if you are not with us, then you are against us” ideology. It is the ideology which turns the citizens into party soldiers, and the members of the parties reduces to parrots, which are incapable of their personal opinion and just repeat the attitudes of the leaders. In one word, it is called a bolshevism, a remnant of the “damn past”. In any democratic environment, the government bears the greatest responsibility for the conditions in the country. In our country, regarding the defects in the system, the government corruption, people’s misery, inter-ethnic mistrust and the underdevelopment of the civic society, the government still manages to recruit demagogues, conspirators and forgers who are trying to manipulate the population for the benefit of the “unprotected and innocent” government, which has eaten up the country. 

OHO
What is the easiest way to destroy your country?

The civic association OHO has certainly given a new and original dimension to the civic engagement in the latest elections. With their civic action “Macedonia mustn’t lose these elections”, OHO have attracted great public attention and explained that it is raised “hoping that Macedonia can be made a democratic country, and fearing that it is too cold in Manitoba”. Within this action, the campaign “What is the easiest way to destroy your country” is carried out and the very popular Guide for voters and candidates is also published, written by Trendo and Pece Talevski. Every Thursday at the NGO info-center, until the end of the election process, OHO will organize debates on topics related to this process.

Citizens for the Citizens and Conrad Adenauer
Raising the trust in the electoral register

The “Citizens for Citizens” coalition, supported by the German Foundation “Conrad Adenauer”, organized a debate on “Raising the trust in the electoral register”, which took place on 12 July this year.

Many experts spoke at the debate – university professors, representatives from the Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, the National Statistics Office, the National Electoral Commission, former delegates, political parties representatives, International Community representatives, international experts, etc.

At these years’ elections, the “Citizens for the Citizens” Coalition organizes a non-party monitoring of the elections with mixed nationality teams of citizens.

D. Medaroski

Green City Municipality
The most democratic elections conducted

The party LOL (Love it or leave it) and its leader Milan from Kumanovo, are the new president in the Green City Municipality, elected at fair, democratic and ecological elections, such as the most developed democracies in the world would envy. The party Rebellious Youth-RY was also highly rated, and one counseling place went to the STP (Save the Planet) party. The party “Sasho, Julia and friends” did not win any place. Four out of five councilors are women. These are the results from the “Green City” elections. All these quotation marks refer to fiction, of course. In fact, this refers to the project “Regional Democracy Camp- Green City Municipality”, organized by the Civic Initiative “Friends of Macedonia”, in cooperation with the Regional Development Agency from Kriva Palanka and the municipality Kriva Palanka.

-The Regional Democracy Camp is based on practical examples and solution of problems that will raise the awareness of the importance of democracy and understanding of the local government as a nucleus of strong democratic nation and its essential feature: the civic society guided by the people’s will. The Camp simulates a municipality called “ The Green City” and its inhabitants are young people, high school students. We wanted to provide an ideal environment where high school students could learn about democracy through establishing the structure of the local self-government, the alternative methods for environmental protection and the economic development which takes care of the environment”, says Daniela Stojanovska from “Friends of Macedonia”.
 

(The illustrations for the project “The Power is in the People” are done by Darko Markovik)