OSCE Mission launches workshops for NGOs on monitoring electoral bodies in Kosovo

On 29 and 30 September 2014, in Prishtinë/Priština, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo held the first in a series of five workshops for ten local NGOs on monitoring the performance of election management bodies.

“The Central Election Commission, the Municipal Election Commissions and the Polling Station Committees carry the main burden of an electoral process.  Making sure that these bodies perform in line with their mandates, legal framework, and international standards is of key importance for the integrity of an election,” said Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger.

“For many years we have been providing technical support and advice to the electoral bodies and now we want to help build up the capacity of civil society organizations to monitor the performance of those bodies throughout an electoral cycle,” he added.

The first workshop addressed international electoral standards and principles and their application in Kosovo context. Workshops to follow in 2014, as well as in 2015, will examine topics such as electoral legal framework, adjudication of election related complaints and court cases, financing of an electoral process and political parties financing, functions and mandates of electoral bodies, as well as methodologies to assess their performance.    

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human rights protection and promotion, democratization, and public safety sector development.