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Voter Education in Kosovo
IFES organized a massive public information campaign to educate Kosovo voters about recent changes to their electoral system and voting procedures. On election day, voters cast their ballots in less than half the time that election authorities predicted.
Publication
Report/Paper
Political Finance in Post-Conflict Societies
This report draws lessons from eight cases in order to provide some guidelines for addressing the serious and often complex issues concerning the role of money in the political process in these societies.
April 30, 2006
Publication
Book
Political Finance in Post-Conflict Societies
This study of political finance in post-conflict society identifies lessons learned from international donor-funded efforts to support political processes in post-conflict environments in general and the funding of political parties and campaign finance in particular. The document consists of eight case studies that seek to improve our understanding not only of the political dynamics of post-conflict situations but also of how to rally international support for holding elections and supporting democratization under such circumstances.
April 30, 2006
Publication
Survey
Measuring and Improving Citizens' Understanding of the Justice System - Survey of Attitudes Towards the Judicial System Among Court Users in Kosovo
This report details the findings from a first-of-its-kind survey of citizens in Kosovo who have filed a case with the country’s district or municipal courts. USAID commissioned this survey to gauge court users’ attitudes on a variety of issues dealing with the courts specifically and the judicial system more broadly. This survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews between August 2005 and October 2005 with 403 persons who have had experience with Kosovo’s court system. More specifically, interviews were conducted with 124 criminal defendants, 36 victims in criminal cases, 25 lawyers who represented victims, 99 civil case defendants and 119 plaintiffs in civil cases.
February 28, 2006
Publication
Survey
Measuring and Improving Citizens' Understanding of the Justice System - Public Opinion Survey in Kosovo
This report details the findings from a public opinion survey in Kosovo. The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,226 respondents throughout Kosovo between 08 and 26 August 2005. This data has been weighted to be representative of the resident population of Kosovo by region and urban/rural distribution. The objective of the survey was to measure the Kosovo residents’ perceptions and knowledge of the justice sector, including specific legal issues, actors and the court system. USAID’s Justice System Reform Activity in Kosovo conducted a similar survey in 2004, and data from the two surveys is compared in this report to identify trends in the opinion environment in Kosovo. The margin of error for the 2005 survey is plus/minus 2.8%.
January 14, 2006
Publication
Report/Paper
Lithuania: Money and Politics Case Study
Lithuania has rapidly developed both politically and economically since emerging from the Soviet Union in 1991. While the country has built a functioning parliamentary system of government, has become a member of NATO, and is on the verge of joining the European Union, it still faces many problems associated with the many consolidating democracies around the world. As in all democracies, populations need to trust that those they elect will represent their interests. Problems such as corruption, weaknesses in laws concerning the political financing, and unaccounted for political income and expenditures threaten the credibility of the process and hinder the speed at which democracy is consolidated. Additionally, Lithuania lacks the high level of vibrant debate about the issue of political financing among scholars, journalists and civil society bodies required to promote meaningful reform. Recognizing this, Lithuania has developed an independent Central Electoral Committee (CEC) and adopted laws requiring detailed and public disclosure of political finance accounts. Prior to conducting Money and Politics programming in Lithuania, the CEC had made a demonstrable interest in making information public. While scanning summary report of accounts and placing them on the internet, the user could not search, not easily compare and analyze the information. Interested parties were required to make an appointment to view more detailed, paper-based information. Further, while the Tax Authorities are required to audit final political party reports, enforcement is widely considered to be weak. Few, if any, cases of political finance violations have been forwarded and investigated, not to mention prosecuted. By addressing the difficult issues surrounding political finance with the support of IFES in 2002 and 2003, Lithuania is emerging as a model for other consolidating democracy to follow. Significant areas remain to be addressed. While Lithuania has taken concrete steps to reform political finance legislation, open political finance information to public scrutiny and oversight, and encourage debate, further efforts are required to actively enforce laws and regulations and raise the level of debate among the various governmental, legislative, and civil society groups. By addressing these areas, Lithuania has the potential for being an example of best practices while making local expertise and resources to other countries undergoing similar reforms.
December 31, 2002
Publication
Report/Paper
Kosovo: Election Assistance to Muncipal Election Officials: IFES Final Activity Report of Phase I, Oct 2001- March 2002
This report summarizes IFES’ role in the professional development of Municipal Election Commissioners in Kosovo. The report details the lessons imparted on Municipal Election Commissioners; voter education techniques; maintenance of impartiality in election administration; skills development including management, strategic planning, budgeting, personnel and human resource management, and preparing information sessions with the media, the general public and the international community; and interacting with political entities, NGOs, and municipal assemblies
May 31, 2002
Publication
Report/Paper
Selecting a Model for Election Administration in Kosovo: Conclusions & Recommendations from Discussion Forum and Conference held on 1-2 and 16 February 2002
This report summarizes IFES findings from two events on the future election administration system in Kosovo. The report provides recommendations for the future of the election administration system in Kosovo.
February 28, 2002
Publication
Report/Paper
Electoral Conflict and Violence: A Strategy for Study and Prevention
An electoral process is an alternative to violence as it is a means of achieving governance. It is when an electoral process is perceived as unfair, unresponsive, or corrupt, that its political legitimacy is compromised and stakeholders are motivated to go outside the established norms to achieve their objectives. Electoral conflict and violence become tactics in political competition. There are examples of elections that have exacerbated long-term conflict (Angola 1992) or have politically hardened conflict-related alliances (Bosnia and Herzegovina 1996). From these experiences, it is generally recognized that post-conflict elections can be held too early and produce results that may extend the conflict rather than resolve it. However, in most cases, such elections mitigate the effects of larger conflict issues and reduce them into localized, manageable incidents...
February 04, 2002