Observers find shortcomings in handling of Albanian local elections

TIRANA, June 6 – International observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) issued their final report on the Albanian local elections held in Feb. 18.
Unlike their first press conference the day after elections when they said elections “represented a missed opportunity to conduct elections fully in line with international commitments and standards for democratic elections,” the final report said that “the 2007 local elections only partly met OSCE Commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. While these elections provided for a competitive contest, it is of concern that the main political parties of Albania have, once again, placed narrow and short-term party interests over the stability and trustworthiness of the election process.”
Albanians voted for local officials in 384 urban and rural communities in a contest between Democratic Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s governing coalition and Tirana Mayor Edi Rama’s opposition grouping. While the main cities were won by the opposition, the governing majority received most of the rural vote, including the south, which has traditionally supported the opposition.
The report said the main political parties of Albania had largely failed to fulfill their considerable responsibilities and duties in the preparation and conduct of the elections. The report noted that the electoral process was frequently stalled and seemed to be close to the point of collapse on repeated occasions.
Additionally, the report criticized many points from the January 12th agreement reached between the two opposing political groups, saying this agreement caused shortcomings in the electoral process, introducing “provisions which proved problematic and cumbersome, in particular with regards to voter identification on election day.”
However, there was a measurable improvement in the voter lists since the 2005 elections, it said, adding that voter identification still suffered “mostly due to political parties’ interference.”
“The continued antagonism between these two parties has often led to protracted political stalemates and frequent crises. In general, the political climate in Albania continued to be characterized by a considerable lack of trust that makes consensus building difficult. As a result, the international community was often called upon to mediate disputes.”
“Overall, Albania has an adequate and sufficient legal framework for the conduct of
democratic elections. However, these elections have shown once again that its implementation is fully dependent on the good will and constructive approach of political parties, whose role and responsibilities in the electoral process remain decisive,” it said.
The absence of a fully functional system of civil registration, addresses, and personal
identification cards somewhat diminished the results of these efforts.
The report made a long list of recommendations to the authorities, political parties and civil society to further improve the electoral process.
The first one was that political parties should demonstrate the political will to conduct democratic elections that are commensurate with the broad privileges granted to them by the election laws.