USAID ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

Young photographers offer outsiders a glimpse into community’s world - Click to read this story

This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

USAID PRESS RELEASE

USAID's Bosnia Elections Assistance Program
The Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia calls for elections within nine months. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is organizing the Bosnian elections. The U.S. Government is contributing $11 million to the OSCE Voluntary Fund for conducting the elections. In addition, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is actively engaged on several fronts in securing free and fair elections within the Dayton timeframe. Among the areas of USAID engagement are: Political Party Building, to establish viable political institutions; Voter / Civic Education, to encourage citizen participation in the democratic process; Election Administration / OSCE support, to assist in the conduct of free and fair elections; and Independent Media, to allow open access and information to all citizens. The essential elements of these efforts are outlined below:
Political Party Building

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has initiated a $1.1 million political party building program to include 1) party building seminars and consultations, 2) poll watching training and 3) candidate fora. NDI is concentrating its USAID-funded activities in Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihac and Zenica.

Voter / Civic Education

Included in NDI's grant is a voter education program to supplement efforts of the Provisional Electoral Commission (PEC) and the OSCE. NDI is concentrating its activities with the Tuzla Citizens Forum, the Serb Citizen Council and the Croatia Peoples Council to organize civic- oriented discussion groups and to develop and disseminate voter education materials.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is concentrating its voter education program in two central Bosnian cantons: Zenica-Doboj and Middle Bosnia. IFES is reaching out to both Bosnian indigenous non-governmental and international non-governmental organizations in geographical areas not covered by NDI.
In Croatia, the International Republican Institute (IRI) launched a voter education program that specifically targets refugees. IRI is working closely with the Croatian Government's Office of Displaced Persons and Refugees (ODPR), which is officially responsible for refugee voting, in distributing over 70,000 refugee voter information newspapers.
In Banja Luka, USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) is working with OSCE to foster the creation of an indigenous citizen's group to oversee the development and implementation of a neutral voter education and participation campaign in the Banja Luka region.

Election Administration

With $825,000 in USAID funds, IFES is providing technical assistance to directly support OSCE in the administration of the elections. To date, funding has: 1) supported management information specialists to work with OSCE on voter registration and 2) funded the OSCE/Sarajevo Director of Elections.
In an effort to help organize and administer the Bosnian elections, IFES is providing the following technical assistance to OSCE through a USAID contract: 1) a procurement specialist on election commodities and materials, 2) elections specialists to work with the PEC and OSCE on administrative rules and procedures, and 3) support of refugee voting.

Independent Media

The OSCE's Information Technologies (IT) Team, funded by USAID, is undertaking a Media Center project to provide immediate election results as they come in to an estimated 2,5000 journalists immediately after the elections.
Internews, a California-based NGO, has leveraged an $800,000 independent broadcasting assistance grant from USAID to provide on-site training and technical assistance to 10 radio stations and seven television stations in Bosnia Federation and Republika Srpska. Internews will combine video-conferencing and locally co-produced election-related programs to connect stations in the Federation and the Republika Srpska in a cooperative network of alternative stations.
USAID has pledged $2 million to the Open Society Institute's Open Broadcast Network, which will strengthen and link independent television stations, thus facilitating a free and open flow of information for the election campaign period and beyond.
USAID has funded a $400,000 agreement with USIA for: 1) U.S. -based training for 18 print, radio, and television journalists, and 2) two Bosnia based media experts to provide technical assistance to print and television entities.
USAID is implementing a public education campaign focusing on the peace accords and democratic rights and responsibilities. The campaign is utilizing the existing capacity of local radio and television vendors.
USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives launched a Mass Media Campaign on August 1 which will air until Sept 14. The Mass Media Campaign is designed to raise the political conscience of the Bosnian electorate through thought provoking yet politically neutral advertisements. The campaign is based on the message triangle of : reassurance, rebuilding, and responsibility.

These activities are part of the planned long-term assistance to establish democratic institutions and practices in Bosnia- Herzegovina. Much of the assistance noted above will continue beyond the upcoming election. Additional USAID-funded activities in the area of democracy and governance are being carried out by the American Bar Association and the International City Managers Association.
# # #
9 August 1996
Return to USAID press release index.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

Last Updated on: July 12, 2001