North Macedonia

More female candidates are needed in local elections, along with better gender equality programmes in the FYR of Macedonia's local government, NGOs say. This is why the Macedonian Women's Lobby prompted 100 NGOs to sign a declaration demanding more female mayoral candidates for the March local elections. Currently, Macedonia does not have a female mayor.

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) has worked in Kosovo since 1999 to promote sustainable, democratic governing institutions in the wake of armed, inter-ethnic conflict. Now, after a lengthy and contentious status resolution process, a determination on Kosovo’s future status is expected this year or early in 2008.

Most of Macedonia's top companies are managed by men, but women are increasingly making inroads in the world of what they term "elite" business. Macedonia passed a Law on Gender Equality and legal provisions for greater involvement of women in politics, yet there is not a single woman mayor. Women share the notion that nothing can be improved on paper unless specific entrepreneurial initiatives are undertaken.

NDI organized a public signing ceremony to launch a code of conduct for snap parliamentary elections on June 5. Though not legally binding, the document was signed by leaders of 38 political parties who pledged to respect all politicians’ freedom to campaign. The president of the national assembly, the president of the state electoral commission, representatives from civil society and heads of foreign missions attended the ceremony, which received wide coverage in the media.