In April 2021, Kosovo citizens were more optimistic than in the fall about the direction of the country. Economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination against the virus joined longstanding concerns related to unemployment and corruption. Concerns about the safety of the vaccine were high, and belief in false Covid-19 narratives remained, just before Kosovo began its broader national vaccination campaign.

NDI cautions that opinions from this research represent a snapshot from April 2021 only.

The February 2021 snap parliamentary elections marked the beginning of a new chapter for Kosovo. For the first time since Kosovo's independence in 2008, a single political party has a majority in the Assembly. It also elected a female president for the second time and a record 43 women representatives to the 120 seat National Assembly.

By Coen Pustjens, Program Director

The democracy support community implements a wide range of programming to promote more competitive and representative multiparty systems. Traditionally, these political party programs have focused on improving the capacity of party activists and political leaders to: conduct citizen outreach; represent different societal groups, including marginalized communities; develop and pursue public policy proposals; recruit and nominate candidates; compete in elections; and form governments.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) developed a Fundraising Guidebook for political parties and movements in Serbia to ensure privacy, safety, and transparency when raising funds, both for the parties themselves and for potential donors. When a political party is not represented in a local, provincial or national assembly, it receives no financial income from the state, and most parties will limit their political activities as a result.

This factsheet contains a summary of the NDI and CEPPS guidance note Promoting More Policy-Focused Parties Through Civic Organizing. The guide examines the conditions under which civic organizing can help promote more policy-focused, citizen-centered political parties. It features a new theory of change, four case studies and four recommendations for designing future party programs. The full publication and executive summaries can be downloaded here.