Local Elections 2000 Assistance

General
In 2000, IFES provided technical assistance for Macedonia’s local elections for mayors and municipal councils. The first round of these elections was held in123 municipalities plus the city of Skopje on September 10. Second round elections, as well as a number of re-runs of the first round, were held on September 24. The majority of IFES activities were undertaken in cooperation with the State Election Commission (SEC) pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding. Tangible accomplishments of the partnership with the SEC were the development and implementation of a voter education and information campaign and the production of a training manual designed for electoral boards (polling station officials).

Voter Education Program
The objectives of the joint voter education project were to:

1. Raise awareness of voting rights among voters in Macedonia and help them to fully exercise these rights

2. Help voters better comply with laws governing elections, particularly with respect to voting in person and in secret

3. Reduce uncertainties about the voting process among voters in Macedonia

Given the very tight timetable leading up to the elections, the campaign was targeted to the general electorate, i.e., all eligible voters. The messages provided information to those most likely to be uniformed on key aspects of the electoral process without being patronizing to those voters who were well-informed.

In addition to providing basic information, such as the types of elections being conducted and date and time of voting, elements of the voter education messages included:

• Obtaining or replacing a voter identification card
• Required identification for voting
• Illegality of group, family and proxy voting
• Correct marking of ballots
• Procedures to expect at the polling station

All media products were united by a logo and a slogan “I am the vote. I decide for myself.” All were produced in both the Macedonian and Albanian languages. Specific products included:

• A leaflet explaining voting rights and the basics of the voting process
• A poster for voters entering the polling stations, describing the steps in the voting process
• Television spots emphasizing the individual nature of the right to vote, and describing the steps in the voting process
• Radio spots tied into the television spot

The voter education campaign was developed in cooperation with, and approved by, the SEC. Several members of the SEC were assigned by the Chairman to work closely with the IFES consultant. All products were approved by the full membership.

IFES arranged for distribution of approximately 200,000 leaflets. For the first round of elections, approximately 125,000 were distributed as inserts in a number of national newspapers. For the second round, independent distributors disseminated leaflets in Albanian areas and non-governmental organizatons distributed leaflets throughout the country.

Posters were by the SEC to the municipal election commissions, and were displayed in most polling stations surveyed. IFES, with the assistance of the IREX-Pro Media group in Skopje and the Broadcasting Council of Macedonia, was able to secure free airtime for the television and radio spots on national and regional stations. Finally, the Macedonian Information Agency placed versions of the leaflet, poster and training guide (see discussion, below) on its Elections 2000 web site.

Training Program
The training program was primarily directed at the members of electoral boards.

Given the short time frame, IFES trained a core group of MEC members from 18 of the country’s 123 municipalities. This group trained other MEC members in their regions and MECs then proved training to the electoral board (polling station) members in their municipalities.

IFES had more than 4,000 manuals printed and distributed to the MECs in the Macedonian and Albanian languages. At the request of the National Democratic Institute, IFES had an additional 1,300 manuals printed for the use of domestic monitors. Finally, IFES provided approximately 200 copies of the manual in English to the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM).