Interwiev: Metodija Sazdovski and Martin Martinoski, members of the Working group for Greening the Local Elections

“Vote for nature” – a new impulse in the election processes

The local elections in the country were also marked with the campaign “Vote for nature” of the Working group for greening the elections. After the end of the first round of the elections, how do you evaluate the attempt to animate the candidates in the run for local government, but also the citizens for the responsibility that both sides carry towards the environment?

Metodija Sazdovski: The candidates have never put a bigger accent on the problems with the environment before. My personal assessment is that the politicians didn’t start the pre-election campaign ready enough and with little dedication to the problems with the environment in their programmes. Planting flowers, trees and grass is only putting make-up on the city, it’s not ecology. The problems are solved gradually and from the basis, with programme and planned activities. All the candidates for mayors promoted their ideas and plans, but none of them came out with concrete answer how they will implement their idea. After our first activities, probably the candidates for the city Skopje understood that they have forgotten the ecology part in their programmes, so the next day they advertised in a newspaper with a whole page with their ideas for solving two concrete problems that we initiated, and those are the problems with the public transport and waste management. The candidates organized meetings with the civil organizations that work in the field of environment, and in their statements on television they started putting bigger meaning to the environment problems in their city. I must say that it was noticed that the media suddenly included in presenting the illegal dumps and waste heaps in the city. The public best met the campaign with the 7,500 distributed free cards for 8th March and 2,000 flower seeds on which our logo and slogan were presented. The aim of the card was to ask the candidates for mayors how green they really are, and it was supposed to be sent to some of the candidates for mayors with questions about the problems with the environment.

Martin Martinoski: This campaign represents a new impulse in the role of the civil sector that was present so far in our election processes. For the first time a group of civil organizations, in this case green, publicly stood behind a very important topic with the aim to start a process of raising the meaning of those issues in the future processes of local democracy. I expect that in the future other civil groups, that represent different issues, will use the elections as good moment for more active representation of their interests. With regard to us, this is just a beginning of one very long process of active influence of the green organizations in the political processes on local level.

In Skopje the citizens commented the incident created during the attempt to enter the convention of Risto Penov in MNT, I assume there are reactions for certain activities in other parts of Macedonia. How much were the forms of acting imported as already checked experience, and in what the members of WGGLE were “themselves in their own field”?

Metodija Sazdovski: We wanted to create some materials and activities that will be unusual and will leave a mark on the audience. Every organization manifested differently the wish for better environment. We solved the incident in MNT and we named it misunderstanding with the security. The organization Eco-conscience that works on the local campaign in Skopje prepared the ideas, to show in an unusual way the dissatisfaction with the condition of the environment. They wanted to take part at the tribune in MNT of Risto Penov dressed in plastic bags and with paroles on which it was written “Are the plastic bags better substitution for birds” and “What about the dangerous waste”, but they were thrown out by the security. In Holiday Inn at the tribune of Trifun Kostovski we were present with chemical overalls and gas masks presenting the actual condition of the air in our city. This kind of activities is conducted by Greenpeace and other organizations throughout the whole world and it’s an every day practice, and also a great story for the journalists.

Martin Martinoski: The idea was to introduce a different democratic approach in the representation of a certain issue and was done in an excellent way by the activists of Eco-conscience and WGGLE. It’s an every day practice in the developed democratic countries, and here it should still be developed and applied. So, it’s about approaches that are already known, experiences from similar campaigns were used and it’s completely right because we can’t constantly invent hot water. Though, all this was adjusted to the conditions that exist here and probably in the end we got a result that is unique in its own way.

What did drinking eco-coffee with the candidates for mayors show? Is the attitude of the Macedonian politicians changing towards the representatives of the environmental associations, of the green?

Metodija Sazdovski: A great effect was felt by the local campaigns as well. The candidates for mayors from Strumica and Bitola participated at the event Eco-coffee organized by the local organizations which represented their own views of ecology. All the candidates were asked questions about five key problems in the city, and they presented their future solutions for these in front of the local televisions and the visitors. The candidates were offered declarations with which they oblige that if they are elected for mayors, they will involve actively in solving the problems in the environment. Definitely the verbal communication and argument among the candidates for mayors wasn’t so present in the smaller towns. They were present at “The green tea” in Pehcevo and at “The green party” in Berovo and Struga. If some of the candidates think that it was only advertisement for himself, and has no intention to respect the obligations towards the environment, I think he’s deceiving himself a lot, with regard to the fact that he obliged in front of its voting body for solving these problems. From the participation at the eco-coffee and from professionalism of the civil organizations that appeared as organizers, I consider that the candidates saw professionals in us and possible future associates for certain projects. We have examples from other towns where the candidates for mayors contacted the local civil organizations, asking them what the campaign “Vote for nature” is and what they should write in their programmes. The project started with 7 organizations, and at the end 22 organizations asked for materials and to get included in the campaign “Vote for nature”. In order to help the future mayors and the population WGGLE printed a brochure with the title “Responsibilities of LGU in the part of the environment”. In this brochure we wrote all the responsibilities that come out of the new laws in the area of environment.

Martin Martinoski: I think that the meetings showed one open approach on behalf of the politicians who are slowly starting to understand the role of the civil sector, in the concrete case the environmental organizations. We can’t expect from the politicians to have knowledge or interest for all the issues in the society. In order to understand their approach better we should see with their eyes. Their main messages refer to the issues for which there’s the biggest interest in the public, and here those are the economic issues or we should better say existential issues. In that context the problems with the environment look distant. At the meetings we tried to change that picture by explaining the connection of the issues from the economic sphere with the issues from the environment and the social gain in general, i.e. the principle of sustainable development.

Do you believe the pre-election promises? In what way will you keep awake in the following period in order to check the given promises?

Metodija Sazdovski: In Macedonia we are famous for many non-kept promises and unsustainable projects in the state institutions. The campaigns of the candidates consist only of promises. None of them gave a plan, strategy and way how to keep their promise. The plan of the Working group is to re-structure in a lobby-service. The idea is to follow the work of the newly elected mayors in the field of environment, to lobby within the institutions and the media at national level for certain projects from local and national interest.

Martin Martinoski: This is the key issue and I think that it isn’t about believing or not believing in the pre-election promises. Everyone knows what’s done before elections and after fishing. From the very beginning we were conscious that with implementing this campaign we are only starting the process of influence on the new bearers of local government. Their responsibilities for protection and promotion of the environment will increase with the process of decentralization, but we cannot expect the problems to be solved overnight. What is needed is strong dedication from all the included actors and here the environmental organizations should play the key role of constant prompters of the processes for solving the environmental problems. The new local governments will be obliged for including the public in making the key decisions that refer to the environmental issues. Here the environmental organizations should constantly prompt the civil activism, i.e. to motivate the citizens to include actively in solving the problems in their communities. Also, with regard to the fact that there isn’t enough developed expertise in the local administration for applying the new legislation, the environmental organizations with their resources, knowledge and capacities will be able to give concrete help in its application.

Katerina Bogoeva