OSCE Mission helps Kosovo MPs meet their constituencies
During the "Week of the Assembly" from 21 May to 5 June this year, Kosovo's public had their first real opportunity to meet and talk with their Representatives.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized and promoted visits by Representatives to five regions, which were also designed to explain the role of the Assembly and its legislators. Each visit included meetings with the three target audiences: high school students, local officials and the general public.
Up until this spring, there had been little direct contact between Representatives and the public since the Assembly was inaugurated. Only a few Representatives have opened constituency offices in their home towns. Otherwise, municipal and regional political party offices were the general public's only lines of communication.
"These visits were a unique opportunity for Assembly Members to meet the population," says Mission Project Co-ordinator, Bujar Maxhuni. "They discussed a number of relevant issues, such as the process of drafting and enacting laws, the functioning of Assembly committees, the separation of powers between the local and central government, as well as Kosovo's final status process."
Direct contacts
"This was an important meeting," said Arzana Kryeziu, a student at Sami Frasheri secondary school, who attended the 5 June meeting in Prishtine/Pristina. "For the first time, we spoke directly with Members of the Kosovo Assembly and we discussed the most important issue for us, education."
Kumrije Kallaba, the Principal at Sami Frasheri, added, "This was the first time that the President of Assembly of Kosovo sat in the same classroom with these students and listened to the concerns they have."
Assembly Members faced some tough questions from members of the public, particularly on the resolution of Kosovo's status. The questions made some Members uncomfortable, but they still said they were happy to be among the people.
"This is part of democracy," Kole Berisha, President of the Assembly, told citizens at a 23 May town hall meeting in Mitrovice/Mitrovica.
"These kinds of discussions help to bring Kosovo institutions closer to the people, and I truly hope this will become common practice in future," says Sabri Hamiti, member of the Presidency of the Assembly. "Citizens have a right to know what we do."
Substantial assistance
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has provided substantial assistance to the Assembly of Kosovo since it was inaugurated. It has helped with monitoring for adherence to procedures, budget planning and expenditure control and protecting the interests of minority communities.
According to Franklin De Vrieze, Head of the Mission's Central Assembly Unit, the OSCE has focused on the areas of capacity-building and democratization programmes, such as strengthening the Assembly committees' work, supporting the development of Assembly procedures and the work of Assembly caucuses, helping establish regional and international relations, and providing support to women MPs.
Until this outreach programme, however, there had been few activities directed at the broader public or municipal level officials.
Throughout the "Week of the Assembly" initiative, the Mission aimed to enable the Assembly to undertake its own outreach activities and provide information to the people.
With Kosovo's electoral system expected to change from a closed-list system to an open-list one (where voters can vote for specific candidates of one party, as opposed to just voting for the party) direct contact between Members of the Assembly and citizens is becoming increasingly important.
Laying the groundwork
According to the OSCE's Maxhuni, this project has laid the groundwork for future outreach activities: "We hope that future outreach activities will be driven by the Assembly and that the OSCE will have a purely advisory and supportive role."
And given the positive response to the OSCE outreach programme, the Presidency of the Assembly has already said it plans hold regular town hall meetings in future.