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.

Pays/région Thème Période Budget
Macédoine du Nord
Governance
Élections
Participation démocratique et société civile
01.01.2024 - 31.12.2027
CHF  5’520’000
Contexte 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. 
Objectifs Democratic and credible election processes that facilitate political participation and social integration enable voters to select their representatives and hold them accountable.
Groupes cibles State Election Administration (SEC, MECs and EBs), political parties and civil society.
Effets à moyen terme

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.  

Résultats

Principaux résultats attendus:  

  • 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


Principaux résultats antérieurs:   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. 


Direction/office fédéral responsable DDC
Crédit Coopération avec l'Europe de l'Est
Partenaire de projet Partenaire contractuel
ONG internationale ou étrangère
  • Other international or foreign NGO North
  • The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)


Coordination avec d'autres projets et acteurs

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 Phase en cours Budget de la Suisse CHF    5’520’000 Budget suisse déjà attribué CHF    712’305 Projet total depuis la première phase Budget de la Suisse CHF   5’321’538 Budget y compris partenaires de projet CHF   14’208’000
Phases du projet Phase 2 01.01.2024 - 31.12.2027   (Phase en cours) Phase 1 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2023   (Active)