EU Election Observation Mission to Kosovo: the real work begins
© EU / EU Election Observation Mission to Kosovo
The EU Special Representative for Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog, together with observation experts met representatives of the civil society and parliamentarian groups to discuss the way ahead for electoral reform in Kosovo. This sets the stage for the work to be done in the coming months and the local actors are the ones who will have to translate the recommendations into concrete actions and strengthen the electoral processes in Kosovo.
With 23 recommendations put forward, the report acknowledges that elections were well organised and fundamental freedoms respected, but it shows that longstanding deficiencies in the legal framework persist.
There are fundamental questions that need to be answered:
- How to increase transparency around campaign and party funding?
- How to advance women’s access to decision-making positions?
- How to tackle the rising role of social media in the electoral process?
But many more are on the table, since the 83-page report addresses all aspects of the electoral process. From the implementation of previous EU EOM Kosovo recommendations to the long lasting lack of transparency and accountability in relation to the financing of the campaign.
At this very point in time, the Government of Kosovo has taken initiatives to push for amending the Law on Financing of Political Parties. This is a promising start and the EU has committed to continue to work, in collaboration with other parts of the international community present in Kosovo, in close collaboration with its partners on the ground to support the process of strengthening democratic processes and institutions.
Yesterday’s meeting is an integral part of the systematic follow-up carried out with local actors to push for the implementation of recommendations and further improve the electoral system. Over the past years, the EU has stepped up its work on the implementation of EU EOM recommendations, through its offices in the host countries and with international stakeholders or with Electoral Follow-up Missions.
© EU / EU Election Observation Mission to Kosovo
Background
Upon an invitation by the President of Kosovo, the EU deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the municipal assembly and mayoral elections held on 17 October 2021 in all 38 Kosovo municipalities, and the runoff mayoral elections on 14 November 2021.
EU observers were present in Kosovo from 5 September to 5 December 2021 and assessed the extent to which the electoral process complied with Kosovo’s laws, as well as with international standards for democratic elections.
EU EOM Kosovo 2021 was the third EU election observation mission observing municipal elections, and the sixth EU EOM in Kosovo since 2013. Read EU EOM Kosovo 2021 Municipal Elections - Final report.
EU EOMs operate under a specific mandate and are independent of the EU institutions including the EU Office/EU Special Representative in Kosovo. The missions are bound by a code of conduct of strict neutrality and non-interference, and work in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.
Election observation is a concrete example of EU’s commitment to supporting democracy and promoting human rights around the world. To this end, the Election Observation and Democracy Support (EODS) III Project, funded by the European Commission, is dedicated to strengthening EU EOMs capacity in five key areas:
- Strengthening missions’ methodology
- Building capacity to assess the impact of social media on elections
- Coordinating the communication strategy for EU election missions
- Training election observation specialists, and
- Developing tools for the operational support of EU election observation.
Learn more about the complex work behind the scenes Election Observation and Democracy Support (EODS)
Follow the Official Facebook page of the European Union Election Observation Missions to access the central hub for all communication on EU EOMs deployed on the ground. And the Official EU EOMs YouTube channel where you can see videos from different missions around the world.
EU Observers in action. Visit the website of the European Union Election Observation Mission Kosovo 2021
