Electoral Support Programme
Switzerland has positioned itself as the main international partner in supporting electoral administration for enhanced conduct of presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, including support to political actors in North Macedonia. The program aims to improve conditions and capacities for democratic and credible elections through engaging with party leaders, fostering youth and women political participation, and enhancing civil society role in improving transparency and accountability of political parties and their elected representatives.
| Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
|
North Macedonia |
Governance
Elections
Democratic participation and civil society |
01.01.2024
- 31.12.2027 |
CHF 5’740’000
|
- Capacitated institutions involved in organizing elections advance their professionalism, effectiveness and transparency
- Capacitated political parties advance and apply citizen-oriented approaches in policy development and youth political leaders demonstrate advanced inter-party collaboration
- Active communities and civil society (especially youth and women) follow closely the implementation of electoral and political promises and call for action and responsibility
- Other international or foreign NGO North
- The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Elections
Democratic participation and civil society
Cross-cutting topics Crisis prevention
The project supports partner organisation improvements as a priority
Aid Type Mandate with fiduciary funds
Mandate without fiduciary fund
Project number 7F09545
| Background | North Macedonian is a parliamentary democracy with a two tiers governance system, municipal and national level. The political scene and the society are polarized and the long-awaited start of the EU negotiation process contributed to increase the divide in the society, to weakness democratic values and to reduce incentives for reforms. National and local elections are conducted regularly but citizens’ perception is that political actors work for their personal interest and the interest of their parties; the lack of accountability and integrity of state officials and political parties has increased the mistrust. OSCE/ODIHR’s assessed that the 2021 local elections were competitive and fundamental freedoms were widely respected; yet, revision of the electoral legislation in a genuinely inclusive process, was a top recommendation for the government to address remaining gaps and ambiguities and ensure consistency To address the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) established a Working Group on election legislation to facilitate inclusive discussions and consultations with political parties, institutions, civil society, media, and the international community. As the biggest opposition party abstained from designating a member in the Working Group, political consensus necessary to address sensitive recommendations still have to be built. |
| Objectives | Democratic and credible election processes that facilitate political participation and social integration enable voters to select their representatives and hold them accountable. |
| Target groups | State Election Administration (SEC, MECs and EBs), political parties and civil society. |
| Medium-term outcomes |
Outcome 1: Strengthened institutions conduct fair and efficient election processes. Outcome 2: Political parties present citizen-oriented policies and election platforms. Outcome 3: Empowered citizens hold political parties and elected officials accountable. |
| Results |
Expected results: Results from previous phases: The trust in elections qualified as “credible and democratic” by ODHIR/OSCE increased thanks to the project, which strengthened the capacities of the election administration, in particular State Election Commission. The competence and performance of the election administration was also enhanced through the utilization of innovative IT tools and SEC’s e-learning platform. Surveys show that citizens have increased their confidence in the State Election Commission’s work and in the reliability of the results of the elections. The State Election Commission was certified for implementing an international standard of quality management system - ISO 9001:2015. For the first time in many years, the Commission received a state budget increase in 2023 despite the economic crisis. Improved citizen-oriented electoral programs in the political offer were observed due to strengthened capacities of Political Party Research and Analytical Centers. Inter-party collaboration has been advanced through skills development of youth from all parties to foster the culture of dialogue. Thanks to civil society efforts, community mobilization in monitoring political actors and implementation of electoral promises was enhanced. Engaging with women and youth proved to be an effective way to enhance political participation and accountability. |
| Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
| Credit area |
Swiss cooperation with Eastern Europe |
| Project partners |
Contract partner International or foreign NGO |
| Coordination with other projects and actors |
7F-08790.02 Parliament Support Program, 7F-05262.06 Civil Society Support Facility and 7F-08397.02 Empowering Municipal Councils. Other development partners/collaborators: OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE Mission to Skopje, National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Republic Institute (IRI), and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). |
| Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 5’740’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 712’305 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF 5’321’538 Budget inclusive project partner CHF 14’208’000 |
| Project phases | Phase 2 01.01.2024 - 31.12.2027 (Current phase) Phase 1 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2023 (Completed) |
