Group for Legal and Political Studies has recently released a Policy Report entitled ‘Voter Abstention in Kosovo – Empirical Evidence on the Micro-Level’. Voter turnout in Kosovo has reached an all-time low in the 2014 National Elections. While wide-spread corruption, organized crime, lack of economic improvement, and slow progress towards the European Union are certainly factors that contributed to the low voter-turnout on the macro-level (Bytyci/Robinson 2014), there had been little previous research or analysis relating to the micro-level factors that affect voting behaviour in Kosovo. Hence, this Policy Report conducted by GLPS tries to fill the empirical gap regarding individual factors that determine voter turnout in Kosovo. We employed a multivariate analysis to test our hypotheses, using two cross-sectional datasets that included information on the last two Kosovar national elections in 2010 and 2014. Those elections were the first two national elections after Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. Not only does this paper contribute to the academic debate and discussion on voter turnout in post-socialist societies, this report also serves as a basis for identifying the measures needed to increase voter turnout and guide policy implementation in Kosovo. Furthermore, this Report greatly contributes to understanding micro-level patterns of voting behavior in Kosovo. So far, there is no study that examines why many Kosovar citizens choose to abstain from voting in elections. Considering the extremely low voter turnout in the last two national elections, the empirical insights resulting from our study gain special importance. The report also highlights the fact that higher education fosters political participation and voter turnout. This result emphasizes the need to improve the political integration of all socio-economic groups and communities and, thereby, strengthen political awareness and feelings of political efficacy. To access the Policy Report, please click here.
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