By: Armend Bekaj
October’s local elections in Kosovo will likely be free and fair – the real test of this young country’s democratic health is what happens after the election.
However, Kosovo’s longer-term challenge with democratization is not the election day. The chances are that this time, too, the elections will be organized in line with international standards.
In the long run, Kosovo’s challenge is the backsliding that occurs after elections: the delays, uncompromising positions, behind-the-scene manipulations, political buy-outs and sell-outs.
Such delays grind the administration into a near standstill and have lasting ramifications for the consolidation of still brittle democratic institutions.
