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Citizens Group Holds Parties To Campaign Commitments

With the frenzy of the election campaigns are over, many politicians may think it’s time to relax. That wouldn’t be a good idea in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) this year, where a coalition of 250 local NGOs have vowed to closely monitor and report on whether politicans keep their campaign promises.

In an astonishing show of solidarity, 25 percent of registered voters in the Federation and RS signed a petition asking political parties to focus on 12 bread and butter issues that contain no mention of constituent peoples or national boundaries. Instead, the "Citizen's Platform for the 2006 Elections" asked parties to commit to goals such as creating 150,000 new jobs, setting the minimum pension at 250 KM, and doubling the amount of foreign investment. To develop the platform, the 250 local NGOs known as GROZD—Civic Organizing for Democracy—polled citizens in 130 muncipalities on what they saw as the country’s most burning issues. The results were combined into a Citizen’s Platform that GROZD sent to all BiH political parties:

1. To create 150,000 new jobs
2. To eliminate extreme poverty
3. To raise the minimum pension to 250 KM
4. To secure basic health and social care for every citizen of BiH
5. To secure a decent life in rural areas
6. To guarantee equal opportunities for youth
7. To reduce administrative costs
8. To complete the education reform
9. To reduce corruption
10. To fulfill the preconditions for gaining the status of candidate for EU membership
11. To better regulate public companies with more effective services
12. To double the amount of foreign investment in BiH

Thirty-six parties committed to support the platform. GROZD representative Adis Arapovic says adopting the platform demonstrated which “parties want to resolve actual problems and not some imagined politicized issues.”

But signing the petition is not the end of this campaign. Now comes the true test. GROZD will monitor and report back to BiH citizens on how well the parties keep their promises.

Samir Ceramida (Cera I) signs the GROZD petition	Education reform and equal opportunities for youth are among the twelve points of the GROZD Citizen Platform

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