Start date:  April 1, 2012     Duration:  Three years
Anticipated Project budget (Life of Project):  $850,000
Implementer: National Democratic Institute (NDI)

Objectives

Support an independent Parliament that will represent the citizens, create informed rules that govern the society, and monitor the work of the executives.

Components

Oversight Hearings:  Assist the Parliament to improve its oversight of the executive branch through strengthened committee hearing procedures; assist parliamentary committees in further strengthening their public oversight hearings on executive branch laws, policies, and conduct; and facilitate collaborative work between parliament and the executive by bringing key players from both branches together to plan hearings, identify expert witnesses, and prepare statements of support for holding these hearings. 

Open Versus Closed Candidate Lists: The program will incentivize better constituent representation by facilitating public debate on the open versus closed candidate list election system. It will build upon a previous conference on electoral reform, “Representation and Responsibility – Open or Closed Candidate Lists?” and will engage party leadership on the relative merits of open and closed lists. The program will examine the impact of closed lists on the 2011 parliamentary elections and would examine comparative examples from other European countries, identify best practices, and discuss alternative models with parliamentary committees and individuals, civil society groups, and the broader public.

Expected Results/Impact

• Oversight hearings regularly practiced by the Parliamentary Committees. 
• Increased public debate on the merits of open versus closed candidate lists.

Contact Information

Contact at USAID:  Sladjana Srbinoska, AOR ssrbinoska@usaid.gov
Chief of Party:  Chris Henshaw, Country Director, chris@ndi.org
Website:  http://www.ndi.org/content/macedonia