Progress of mayors in fulfilling election promises during 2021 -2025 mandate

GAP Institute, with the support of Helvetas/Project for Decentralization and Municipal Support (DEMOS), has published on the electronic platform "Municipal Identity Card" the latest assessment on the fulfillment of the promises of mayors of municipalities for the 2021 -2025 mandate. This update covers the period until the end of June 2024.

Out of a total of 1,816 promises made by 27 mayors, 765 promises (42%) have been fulfilled, 304 promises (17%) are partially fulfilled, 326 promises (18%) have been initiated, and 421 (23%) of the promises remain uninitiated.

Evaluated by sectors, the highest percentage of fulfilled promises is in the field of administration and healthcare, with 66%, followed by education, agriculture, and economy, with at least 50% of the promises fulfilled. The sectors with the lowest fulfillment of promises are infrastructure, urbanization, and public services.

Compared to last years update, where the percentage of fulfilled promises was 26%, this year it has increased to 42%. For partially fulfilled promises, the percentage has risen from 16% to 17%, while for initiated promises, the percentage has dropped from 23% to 18%. For uninitiated promises, there has been a decrease from 35% to 23%.

Unlike previous years, when the fulfillment of promises was mainly focused on the field of infrastructure, this year it is more evident in the fields of administration and healthcare. In the field of administration, the promises have included increasing transparency in decision-making, publishing municipal acts, involving women in leadership positions, adhering to legal procedures during recruitment for jobs, and simplifying the process of official documents through digitalization.

In the field of healthcare, the promises are related to extending service hours for healthcare services, modernizing equipment, improving the quality and accountability in service delivery, specific medical checks for certain categories, as well as improving working conditions and services in primary healthcare.

Meanwhile, the lowest number of fulfilled promises is in the field of urbanization and infrastructure. Out of a total of 41 promises made by 27 mayors in the field of urbanization, only 11 have been fulfilled so far. These promises include drafting regulatory plans, urban development plans, zoning maps, as well as speeding up the process of legalizing and granting technical approvals for structures on the ground.

GAP Institute periodically monitors the realization of promises in 27 out of 38 municipalities in Kosovo, as some of the current mayors of municipalities did not engage in active election campaigns. Mayors of municipalities like Mamusha and ten municipalities inhabited by Serb majority population have not presented any election program and have not made specific promises. The evaluation of promises is conducted periodically, also through collaboration with local organizations. This is the third evaluation for this local governments mandate.

To view the details of the promises made and their fulfilment, you can visit GAP Institutes electronic platform by clicking HERE.