The organization Association for Democratic Initiatives implemented the project “Data-Driven Democracy: Monitoring Political Parties for a More Transparent Future”, awarded as a sub-grant within the project “Integrity Watch in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Civil Society Organizations in the Fight Against Corruption Using Political Integrity Data”, implemented by Transparency International – Macedonia and funded by the European Union.
The objective of the project was to strengthen political integrity and reduce corruption risks in North Macedonia by improving the transparency of political parties, encouraging civic oversight, and enhancing accountability in political financing and legislation.
Within the framework of the project, three policy briefs were published, covering the following areas: transparency in political financing, internal party governance and links to favoritism in public procurement.
The following policy briefs were prepared and published:
- “Transparency on Paper or Transparency in Practice? Online Access to Data on Political Party Financing in North Macedonia”, author: Snežana Kamilovska
This document analyzes the state of transparency of political parties in North Macedonia, with a particular focus on how simple and intuitive it is for citizens to find relevant data on official party websites, especially data related to financing and donors. - “Intra-Party Governance and Candidate Selection: The Impact on the Legislative Process and Parliamentary Accountability in the Republic of North Macedonia”, author: Nino Sotirovski
This document analyzes the normative design of parliamentary political parties in North Macedonia—particularly statutory rules on internal party organization and candidate selection—and its impact on parliamentary behavior, legislative debate and accountability mechanisms. The analysis is based on a systematic review of party statutes and relevant internal acts, combined with findings from relevant international, national and analytical reports. - “Links Between the Lack of Transparency of Political Parties and Favoritism in Public Procurement in the Republic of North Macedonia: Analysis of Systemic Weaknesses and Recommendations for Enhancing Public Integrity”, author: Nino Sotirovski
This public policy document analyzes the connection between the lack of transparency of political parties and the risks of favoritism in public procurement, with a focus on structural weaknesses in the current system of political and institutional accountability. The analysis is based on a review of the relevant legal framework, publicly available financial reports of political parties, their statutes and internal acts, as well as reports and data from oversight institutions, including the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), the State Audit Office (SAO), and the State Election Commission (SEC). Additionally, the latest reports and recommendations from the European Commission, GRECO, OECD and relevant academic literature on clientelism and political patronage were used.
The documents are available in Macedonian and Albanian lanquaqe at the following links:
https://adi.org.mk/mk/publikacii/
https://adi.org.mk/sq/publikime/
These documents were also presented to representatives of civil society, as well as to representatives of political parties and institutions at two separate events:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DmHcQkiAH/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Kr1t7U4p5/
Infographics were also prepared, and a digital campaign was conducted to raise awareness, with the aim of strengthening local civil society organizations, youth councils, and minority groups to continue monitoring transparency even after the project’s completion, ensuring long-term impact on integrity.
