The following is the first issue of a monthly update on Slovak civil society and the 2002 parliamentary elections being prepared by Pavol Demes, the Director of Central and Eastern European Programs for the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and formerly spokesman of the Gremium of the Third Sector, an association of Slovak NGOs. He was assisted in the preparation of this update by Sandi Phinney of GMF. To receive the monthly bulletin, write to <[email protected]>.
Issue 1, March 2002
SUMMARY
It is well known that NGOs played an important role in the Slovak parliamentary elections in 1998, namely in increasing voter participation, voter education, and election monitoring. These elections ended the rule of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and brought to power a new democratic government, which started a series of reforms to put Slovakia on track to Euro-Atlantic integration. (There are several case studies and articles on the civic OK’98 campaign available in English. Please send inquiries to <[email protected]>.)
Four years later, this September, Slovakia will have new parliamentary elections that will determine whether Slovakia will continue necessary reforms, receive an invitation to NATO at the Prague Summit on November 21-22, and continue its promising pre-accession negotiations with the EU.
It is expected that NGOs will again play an important role in overcoming voter apathy, increasing voter knowledge of political parties and candidates, advocating for a fair environment for the political contest, and showing citizens the strong connection between the results of these elections and the chances for Slovakia to join NATO and the EU.
Since the international community is naturally focusing more attention on Slovakia these days, I decided to prepare every month a brief update on civic activities related to the elections (general political information will be covered by media and may be easily obtained at various websites). . . . In this first issue of The New Challenge, I will outline the environment and cause for civil society action and describe the emerging civic players and donors interested in supporting non-partisan, election-related projects of NGOs.
The Environment in 2002
The biggest difference in comparison with 1998 is Slovakia’s international position. After several years of criticism and relative international isolation, the country joined the OECD in 2000 and caught up to other promising EU candidate countries with regards to pre-accession negotiations. Slovakia is also among the top candidates for membership in NATO. However, the domestic situation is still quite complicated due to an increase in serious social hardships. There is about 20% unemployment and sharp regional differences. Several key reforms in education, health, social services, and the decentralization of power were not carried out as promised, and due to an ineffective judiciary, many important criminal cases were not brought to justice.
Four years ago people believed that the opposition could bring about desired changes. Today’s complex governing coalition led by Mikulas Dzurinda is frequently beset by frictions, splits, and corrupt practices and is often ineffective in communicating with citizens. This has allowed for the emergence of new non-parliamentary political parties and the retention of significant political support for Vladimir Meciar (who, after the last elections, announced his departure from high level politics) and his party in the run up to parliamentary elections (28% public support for the HZDS ).
The political and social situation is creating quite significant apathy and uncertainty among Slovak voters. They are faced with the dilemma of which party to support (or whether to vote at all). They still have fresh memories of the activities of the previous elites under Meciar’s leadership, but they are also disillusioned with the current ruling coalition and unexcited by the two main new independent non-parliamentary parties.
The international community is strongly suggesting that the comeback
of previous elites to power will disqualify Slovakia from integration into
Western structures. In a meeting with Slovak officials on February 27,
Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, declared that “We are convinced
that no non-democratic parties or governments have a place in NATO.
We are convinced that the previous government has not demonstrated respect
of democratic values and the foundations of a state governed by the rule
of law.” Additionally, Markus Meckel, the vice president of the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the German
Federal Parliament, stated on March 6 that “today it is possible to say
with certainty that if Vladimir Meciar becomes [head] of the next Slovak
government, Slovakia will definitely not receive an invitation to NATO.”
A day later, on March 7, the Secretary General of NATO George Robertson,
during an official visit of Slovak President Rudolf Schuster to Brussels,
said “if they want to go [in]to NATO, they have to vote for NATO.”
What Do NGOs Plan To Do?
Most NGO leaders clearly understand the key role of these elections for the future course of Slovakia’s evolution and that the continuation of reforms and the integration of Slovakia to Euro-Atlantic political, economic, and security structures will be key factors for the future development of the country. It is remarkable that foreign policy issues like NATO and EU integration are among the top mobilizing factors for local civil society organizations in 2002 (this year’s annual Slovak NGO Conference - the so-called Stupava Conference - to be held at the end of May by the Gremium of the Third Sector, is entitled “Slovakia for Integration”).
Most importantly, NGOs plan to help citizens overcome their apathy and encourage them to exercise their right and responsibility to vote as a part of the democratic process. This will then allow the creation of a democratic governing coalition, capable of achieving desired integration of the country into NATO and the EU. Through these pre-election activities, NGOs will aim to empower citizens to voice their desires for the creation of a more professional, accountable, and transparent government capable of resolving the country’s many pressing economic and social problems.
The dynamism of civic action may take various courses, but at this stage it seems that Slovak NGOs will develop numerous smaller election-related projects and several large-scale parallel campaigns motivating and educating various target groups. NGOs are currently advocating for amendments in election law, conducting political analyses, and monitoring media for their fairness in covering political parties and their representatives. (In the next issue of The New Challenge, I will outline the types of NGO election-related projects which are currently ongoing or under preparation.)
Are Donors Ready to Support NGO Activities?
Without flexible funding, one can hardly imagine effective large scale projects by NGOs in the area of public policy in any transition country. The Slovak Donors Forum, comprising several private and public grant-making entities, played a critical role in supporting the OK’98 campaign (there is a special case study available in English describing donors activities in 1998. Please send inquiries to Zuzana Franova at [email protected]). In 2002 there are several donors - both private foundations and governmental entities - which have expressed interest in cooperating again to support non-partisan GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) projects of Slovak NGOs, as well as educational, advocacy, and election monitoring activities. These donors include the EKOPOLIS Foundation-ETP Slovakia, the Foundation for the Development of a Civil Society (PHARE), Freedom House, the Fund for Support of Social Changes, the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Foundation, USAID, and the embassies of Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some of these organizations have already announced their support of programs (see www.donorsforum.sk with links to the above organizations). More information about the activities of these donors will be available in the April issue ofThe New Challenge. It must be stressed that in addition to any funding there is significant voluntary effort being put into all of these election-related activities as well as a growing interest among businesses to support or cooperate with NGOs.
1319 words- 3 pp