Forums Hold Kosovo Mayors Accountable for Promises
FrontLines - October 2009
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Citizens of Viti/Vitina Municipality listen as Mayor Nexhmedin Arifi updates them on progress toward campaign promises during a nationally televised forum.
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VITI/VITINA, Kosovo—In the days leading up to Kosovo’s November 2007 elections, voters
and mayoral candidates participated
in public forums that were strong examples of democracy
in action. (City names appear in Serbian and Albanian in this article.)
However, few mechanisms were in place to track fulfillment of campaign promises made during the mayors’ tenures. A USAID-supported initiative thus provided citizens of Kosovo with an opportunity to hold elected officials accountable for their performance.
Several months after the local elections, a series of nationally televised forums called "Life in the Municipality" aired. The forums allowed citizens to check on progress toward the mayors’ campaign promises, but also required prior research in measuring
the one-year performance of mayors in their posts.
With USAID’s support, the local organization producing the forums conducted thorough research in the municipalities in order to measure the performance of the mayors being discussed.
Reacting to inquiries in anticipation
of the televised discussion, mayors initiated a flurry of actions pertaining to 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 brought to a school in Novobërd/ Novobrdo.
In addition, citizens and municipal personnel reported increased responsiveness from mayors and local administration.
The 2007 elections were Kosovo’s first open list municipal elections, which allowed citizens to vote for individual candidates as opposed to only choosing a party. Kosovo’s next local elections
will be held on Nov. 15, the first since the country declared independence in February 2008.
This article was prepared by Worldlearning.
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