OSCE helps over 15,000 special needs voters in Kosovo

After two 4x4 vehicles had driven over rugged mountainous dirt roads for nearly an hour, the OSCE Special Needs Voting team and police escort reached the end of the road. Using a detailed map and the guidance of a woman they had picked up nearby, the six began trudging up the mountain towards four houses located hundreds of meters above them.

Voting in the mountains

They were going to visit a homebound voter in the mountains north of Leposavic. As the team neared the village, the supervisor stopped for a minute to catch his breath and wipe the mud off his shoes. "After all this, I sure hope the woman is at home," he said.
When the team arrived at the village, they were greeted by a very elderly woman with thick glasses and a wide smile. "Would you like to vote in the Assembly Election?" the OSCE international supervisor asked. The team translator communicated the question, and without any hesitation, the woman responded with a hearty yes.

The Special Needs Voting team checked her identity, registered her, and explained the ballot to her. Because she could not read or write, her son helped her. She made her choice and inserted her ballot into the ballot box with an even wider smile. The Special Needs Voting team and its police escort then carried the ballot box, laptop computer, voters' list and other polling materials back down the mountain.

Special measures for exceptional needs

In communities across Kosovo, the OSCE has made similar efforts to reach voters who were not able to go to the polls on Election Day. In any election, there are voters who would be disenfranchised unless special measures are taken to accommodate their exceptional needs. In Kosovo, Special Needs Voting was carried out in one of the most progressive electoral programmes in the post-conflict and developing world.

Those who were unable to go to the polls on 17 November for clear and convincing reasons were visited by mobile teams who brought the election to the voter. Starting on 31 October, mobile teams throughout Kosovo began visiting those homebound due to disability and those whose duties would prevent them from voting on Election Day, like OSCE staff and KPS officers. By 16 November, the 31 mobile teams operating in Kosovo had visited those homebound by fear, those in prisons and hospitals, and those in very remote communities. The programme served more than 15,000 voters.

Identifying special needs voters

Disabled voters were identified by Handikos, a Kosovo NGO, or by registration staff who heard about those who were unable to register from their family members and neighbours. Because these potential voters were homebound, the Special Needs Programme also provided civil registration, along with the opportunity to vote. When visiting those homebound by fear, the Special Needs team included a human rights officer who was familiar with the families.

In the days leading up to the election, mobile teams helped those voters who were least likely to be able to reach the polls, such as those in hospitals and prisons. KPS officers and OMiK staff - who would need to work on Election day - were also given the chance to vote before 17 November, at fixed polls in their offices.

Preventing fraud

To prevent fraud, those who voted in the Special Needs Programme were removed from the voters' list used on Election Day. In addition, the same ink used in polling stations, detectable only by ultra-violet light, was sprayed onto the voter's finger. This ink remained on the skin for some time and when people went to vote, their finger was checked.

The materials used in Special Needs Voting - ballots, voters' lists, ballot stamp, electoral ink, laptops and CD-Roms - remained under international supervision at all times. Every morning, the international supervisor was escorted by UNMIK police to pick these up from the local KFOR base. Throughout the day, the supervisor stayed with the materials to oversee the voting process and, at the end of the day, returned the materials to the KFOR base.

For a democracy to develop, a widest possible participation is necessary. For the Kosovo Assembly Election on 17 November, the OSCE's Special Needs Programme played a vital role towards ensuring a broad and representative franchise.