From October 7 to 11, 2014 the National Democratic Institute (NDI or the Institute) conducted an assessment of women’s political participation in Kosovo’s 2013 local elections and 2014 parliamentary elections. The assessment drew upon international standards forwomen’s political participation developed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and NDI’s own global programs on Gender, Women, and Democracy. The assessment focused on identifying challenges or “gaps” in the recruitment of women candidates, women’s access to decision making positions, their nomination for positions by political parties, and women’s roles within political parties’ campaigns. Based on the assessment findings, NDI has developed recommendations to support gender equality within Kosovo’s political parties and to support future electoral reform efforts. 

 

The Institute used three research methods to conduct the assessment: individual interviews, focus groups, and an online survey. The assessment team met with men and women representing a wide spectrum of government officials, opposition and  political party leaders, members of parliament (MPs), and representatives of the media, academia, civil society and the international community. NDI also administered  an online survey to a self-selected sample of 81 women party members from across  the political spectrum. Of this total, 61 respondents were candidates in the 2013 local elections, while 12 ran in the 2014 parliamentary elections. Finally, NDI conducted three focus groups with branch-level women party members to explore their views on internal party procedures.