With its eye on membership in the European Union, Macedonia held peaceful local and presidential elections this spring without the violence that marred previous polls. The success of the election process was attributable, in part, to a Code of Conduct campaign that rallied political party leaders, candidates and voters alike to show that Macedonia can hold elections consistent with international standards.

NDI has organized Code of Conduct initiatives for six Macedonian elections, dating to 2002, as part of a long-term democracy assistance program that stretches back to 1993. Chris Henshaw, NDI’s director in Macedonia, talks about the origins of the campaign, how it was organized and its effect on Macedonia’s democratic transition.

What is the Code of Conduct and what is its goal?

The Code of Conduct sets out procedures and practices for political parties and their candidates to follow with the goal of raising public confidence in the integrity of the election campaign.  It’s not a legal document and is not legally binding, but some aspects of it are about compliance with the law. It’s also about good professional conduct and practice – what it is right to do in an election and what is not appropriate.

NDI’s programs in Macedonia are about developing practices that are ‘fit for purpose’ for 21st century Europe, as this is where Macedonia belongs. The Code of Conduct is a good practice guide. It’s as relevant for France, Germany or the UK as it is for Macedonia.

What were the origins of the Code of Conduct campaign?

NDI did the first code in 2002 for the first parliamentary elections after a period of conflict that could have escalated into civil war. So it was critical that political parties publicly show willingness to engage peacefully in a competitive election. We incorporated established standards of democratic conduct, anywhere from refraining from physical violence to not tearing down opponents’ posters.  Like the parties themselves, we learned a lot about how to make the code a living, breathing thing, something that the parties could abide by and the public understand and incorporate into its expectations about how elections should be conducted.

More recently, we started re-looking at the way we were doing this. In 2006 and again in 2008, we organized for parliamentary elections high profile signing ceremonies by party presidents in front of the international community and in the full glare of the country’s media. This was followed by a media campaign, managed by a leading media company, which used billboards and newspaper, radio and TV advertisements, interviews, etc. NDI staff relocated themselves across the country for four weeks, convening candidates and activists to build consensus and iron out any difficulties. The 2006 elections earned, on the whole, a mainly positive report from international observers, but the 2008 elections were marred by violence and irregularities, a huge disappointment for everybody and a setback for the country.

What set the 2009 approach apart from earlier campaigns?

A Code of Conduct Campaign billboard

This time around, we let the campaign speak for itself, gain its own momentum so that parties and activists wanted to be part of it and, most importantly, be seen to be part of it. The media company we’d been working with came up with a superb slogan, Don’t Play with the Future, a reference to Macedonia’s aspirations to join the European Union and NATO.  The logo was a dandelion of letters that formed the slogan using both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets and drawing on the languages of all of Macedonia’s ethnic communities. And it looks like someone’s blown on it and the dandelion’s about to fall apart. So the visual message was simple: something dear to all of us is fragile, so don’t blow it.

We were able to secure the support of mainstream print and broadcast media, and got the leaders of all the major political parties to commit to use the campaign’s logo on their campaign billboards, posters and leaflets -- even their candidates’ lapels.  

Why was it so much more popular this time than in the past?

I think there were two factors. One was what happened during the 2008 elections. There was debate as to whether those elections were the worst that Macedonia had ever had. There was one death, a shooting on election day. There were nearly 200 polling stations where the results had to be rerun. This came as a shock to everyone -- the political parties, voters, citizens and the international community. Everybody accepted that this pulled the country back in its efforts to become a member of the European Union. Macedonians could not allow the same thing to happen in 2009.

Second was NDI’s work in promoting the Code of Conduct over the long term. Our programming isn’t about instant results; these rarely happen and when they do they are often not sustainable, so it’s about long-term planning and development. When we sat down with the political parties this time, we weren’t talking about a new idea. We were talking about a partnership initiative that went back seven years. Thus I was able to say to a party president, “You promised us last time you would put the logo on your posters. It didn’t happen. This time, let’s do it.”

We also produced thousands of badges, which we didn’t last time, so people could display their support. It got to the stage where if you were a serious candidate and you didn’t have a badge on, then you were missing something. We counted 150 photographs in newspapers -- most of candidates out electioneering and canvassing -- where they were wearing the badge.

The backing of the international community was superb. Starting with the U.S. ambassador, his staff, and USAID, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Czech Foreign Ministry, the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the OSCE -- everyone devoted time, energy, and funds.  The U.S. ambassador, the Swiss ambassador, the Czech ambassador, in his role as representative of the Czech Presidency of the European Union, the European Union special representative and seven other European ambassadors attended NDI-organized Code of Conduct meetings around Macedonia, wearing the badge themselves to promote the campaign and showing people that they believed that Macedonia could meet the challenge.

The media response was fantastic. One TV station actually decked its studio with campaign posters when it had a presidential debate. All the contenders were wearing the badge. Presidential candidates went on group walkabouts, TV cameras in tow, wearing the badge. We had three TV stations where the news readers every night were wearing the badge.

NDI staff organized over 730 meetings around the country on the Code. We support parliamentary constituency offices and people working in those offices organized a “code of conduct caravan” to publicize it.  Basically, there was nobody in Macedonia that didn’t know about it. It was totally different from 2008. Then it was billboards and advertisements, but in 2009 it was much more.  The Prime Minister wore the badge for three weeks.

What was the effect of the campaign?

NDI’s Chris Henshaw

The interim election report by the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Elections and Institutions (ODIHR) stated that the elections were on the whole free and fair, although there were still some problems. ODHIR’s interim report referred to credible allegations that certain officials in positions of responsibility and power had misused those positions for the benefit of electoral gain. But compared to the 2008 elections, what happened in 2009 was a world apart.

So the behavior that would have been anti-code, such as tearing down posters and any kind of violence, did not happen?

There were incidents but they were minor and different compared to 2008, and you actually had people at meetings speaking out against them. Parties and candidates could not be accused of saying (and wearing) one thing while doing another.  It was about credibility, one’s public face. 

What would have happened if the Code didn’t take and the elections had gone sour?

Macedonia wants to be a member of NATO and the EU. The holding of democratic elections is very important to Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Greece has issues with Macedonia over the recognition and acceptance of its constitutional name, which led Greece to block Macedonia’s admission to NATO. Part of the underlying message in this campaign was, “Don’t give anybody excuses. Let’s not have somebody able to say, ‘The reason Macedonia is not a member of NATO has nothing to do with the name issue, it’s to do with the elections. We can’t have a country as a member of NATO or the EU if we have elections like this.’”

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

The main focus of our work is institutional change, developed and put in place through partnerships that support Macedonia’s democratic development. Democratic elections don’t just happen. You need to set up institutions, practices and processes and have a recognized track record to effect change. It’s great to be part of that. It shows the value of being there for the long term and what NDI can achieve given time and resources.

Our legacy will also continue through the Institute for Parliamentary Democracy, a local non-governmental organization that we’ve established. We’re very proud that its name was on the bottom of the billboards and posters along with NDI’s as part of the Code of Conduct campaign.  One good election in Macedonia is not a guarantee, unfortunately, that bad elections are a thing of the past. So the follow up is more partnership, more good practice, more sharing, more working together.

I’m not Macedonian and eventually will leave this beautiful country. But I look at the future from the point of view of NDI’s superb Macedonia staff, colleagues I have learned from and grown with, and the many people I have met here that I now value as friends. It’s about their future along with the future of their children and grandchildren. What happened in 2008 was a huge blow, as it was when Macedonia didn’t get accepted into NATO. It was a sad time and a time of frustration and anger.  So the slogan “Don’t Play with the Future” really resonated.

Pictured above: The Code of Conduct symbol at a campaign event in Macedonia.

Published on September 14, 2009