6 minutes agoPolitical parties like idea of electoral reform
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Election reform in Kosovo will remain hostage to political will, as well as many other processes that have begun, but have not been completed due to the lack of harmonisation among political subjects. At the Central Election Commission, as well as representatives of civil society, they say there is still no proper political will to do [...]
At the Central Election Commission, as well as representatives of civil society, they say the necessary political will is still not there to make an election reform.
Central Election Commission Chairman Valdete Daka told Radio Free Europe, that the issue has been brought up since 2011. According to her, none of the governments and neither the current government have expressed visible interest in making the reform required for the electoral system.
“They are the keepers of electoral reform because the parliament of political parties that are in power always depends on whether we will have electoral reform or not. As long as nothing is moving, I don't see any political readiness from anyone to start reforms”, Daka said.
The Kosovo presidency had formed a working group on this issue, and according to the presidency's office for media, the group has carried out the tasks it was in charge of on the issue.
The co-operative group formed by the president for election reform, composed of local and international experts and representatives of civil society, has done its job. Their proposals for electoral changes have been finalised, and now only the consensus of political subjects is needed to complete this process” as a written response from the Presidency Information Office.
Constitutional legal affairs expert Mazbul Baraliu, professor at Pristina University, tells Radio Free Europe that political parties -- namely, party leaders do not want to have a reformed electoral system, as he says he does not want to lose the privileges and positions they have.
He said the current system responds to political elites, and that they do not even want an internal democratic transformation.
With years and decades of the same people at the top of the same parties and so forth or about the same with the exception of some political subjects that have taken place ... then this is the conservative lack of political and institutional will that simply have doubts, that there are reformes of the system, and that there are amendments for reasons that electoral processes and this legislative situation bring many problems in implementing and closing electoral processes, so if we don't see it in the table wanting to lose the privileges and positions that have brought about this election legislation, political leadership, the main political subjects, so Baruxu> said.
The Kosovo Democratic Institute considers it necessary and necessary to complete electoral reform before the upcoming elections.
Blerta Aliu, co-ordinator for public relations in KDI, told Radio Free Europe that recently organisations with her projects have been working with civil society, but also with political parties to take their positions regarding the specific elements of electoral reform.
The parties support reform, however, but what it notes is that there is no unique position in parties regarding when it should be maintained. The opposition is demanding elections as long as the position is demanding reform before elections. On the other hand, we also have the president who has initiated the reform issue, yet is not constantly dealing with this issue. Looks like his” initiative is stuck, Aliu said.
Aliu also stresses that political parties are declared to be for electoral changes and reform, but they have no priority when it comes to implementing such a thing.
The political parties' “agendas are differing. Opposition parties are demanding elections and normally have no priority in dealing with electoral reform. They say that in the wake of the upcoming elections, they can initiate the issue as an issue to gather and regulate the specific elements of the electoral system, while the ruling parties want this process to be initiated in advance so that it cannot go to the quick elections”, Aliu said.
Recognitions of the electoral system have said that given that problems have been observed in each election process, and that, according to them, in the absence of changing the law, electoral reform should be the priority of state institutions.
KDI has developed a questionnaire for key political subjects in the country through which preferences for specific elements must include electoral reforms have been obtained.
