TIRANA, May 26 – Local and international experts have hailed the increased number of women candidates in the upcoming June 21 polls for the local administrative elections.
The largest city in northern Albania, Shkodra, has been applauded for having an all-female race as both the main coalitions are running women candidates.
The two, the Democrats’ Voltana Ademi and the Socialists’ Keti Bazhdari, participated at at the Shkodra European Forum, organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies and the Dutch Embassy.
The event focused on the representation and participation of women in the elections and their role in the process of decriminalization of politics.
The two Shkodra candidates have been unusual among candidates in the large cities in that they have appeared in several events together. Their male counterparts in other cities often don’t even acknowledge each other when they are in the same room.
In addition to Shkodra, other major cities where at least one of the top candidates is a women include Durrës, Albania’s second largest city, and the southern city of Gjirokastra.
