Europe Urges Tirana To Resolve Political Crisis

TIRANA, Oct 26 – EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn last week said he expected the Albanian government to find a way out of the political standstill that has engulfed the tiny Balkan country since the June 28th general elections.
The opposition Socialist Party has boycotted the parliament and is also to boycott the upcoming partial local elections accusing the governing Democrats of manipulating the vote and asking for an investigation.
Democrats of Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s party and their allies have 75 seats in the 140-seat parliament while the Socialists and their allies 65 seats.
Speaking in Brussels, Rehn said the Albanian government must demonstrate more commitment to political stability and evolve its European orientation.
Call for end of boycott
In another event OSCE Ambassador to Tirana, Robert Bosch, briefed the organization’s Permanent Council in Vienna last week urging Albania’s opposition to end its boycott and return to the parliament to help pass EU integration-related reforms.
But Bosch also acknowledged there were legitimate issues to be resolved with the election. He criticized the vote counting process in June, saying parties politicized the process. He also pointed out that the ruling Democratic Party used state mechanisms in its favor during the campaign, and that many complaints by the SP have gone unaddressed
Bosch said that the Final OSCE-ODIHR Report on the June 28 elections noted that the parliamentary elections “met most OSCE commitments” and “marked tangible progress with regard to the voter registration and identification process, the legal framework, adopted in a consensual manner by the two main parties, the voting, counting and the adjudication of election disputes.”
However, the election saw a number of deficits in terms of a politicized counting process that resulted in the election not fully realizing, as the Report notes, “Albania’s potential to adhere to the highest standards for democratic elections.”
The challenges that did exist related more to an overly ambitious tight timeframe, a protracted debate over the cost of the card, often contradictory figures on the process, as well as some reluctance to make all relevant data available.
In order to build the widest political consensus in the process, should a political party-based CEC be retained in preference to a totally depoliticized system, then widening the composition of the various commissions could be considered.
Bosch rementioned the fact that the SP has a responsibility to return to the parliament and to play their constitutional role as a ‘constructive opposition’, not least with a number of key reforms pending relating to the integration agenda.
Corruption, media remain top issues
The OSCE briefing also mentioned the Gerdec blast case and its developments. It continued to remind all that despite steps undertaken from the Tirana government on anti-corruption, “corruption still remains a serious problem particularly in the judiciary, health, and education sectors. Challenges remain in the effective implementation of anti-corruption legislation and greater co-ordination is needed between the public institutions responsible for dealing with this issue.”
On the media, he said that the current legal guarantees on freedom of expression are not being fully implemented. Journalistic independence is not always respected by media owners and the implementation of the labor code remains mixed.
Year ahead
Bosch said that for Albania 2010 was almost certainly going to be another important year in the light of its continuing EU integration aspirations.
A precondition for national success will be the return of a cross-party consensus on matters of national importance that existed until the spring of 2009. He warned, “Given the current boycott of the Assembly by the SP, how such a consensus will be achieved and, even more so, sustained once the SP returns is an interesting point of discussion,” he said.
Political parties still need a greater political will to ensure that elections are held according to international standards. While this means an important and positive role for the Government, it also means that a constructive role has to be played by the Opposition. Without this, the challenges observed in June will continue, with the cycle of elections being ‘not quite good enough’ continuing.
EU keeping a close eye on Tirana
Swedish OSCE Ambassador Veronika Bard-Bring궳 said that, “the European Union is pleased to note that encouraging developments have taken place in Albania.”
She also said that the election shortcomings in Albania should be addressed by the Government and all key political stakeholders with the relevant assistance of the ODIHR well ahead of the 2011 local elections.
“In order for this process to be successful, a wide and sustained political consensus is required as well as maturity on behalf of all political actors in Albania,” she said, also adding that, “A more systematic approach is also needed in combating corruption, organized crime, and trafficking in human beings. We note with concern the assessment in the latest progress report by the European Commission that corruption is prevalent in many areas and continues to be a particularly serious problem.”
“The EU also encourages all political parties in Albania to pursue a constructive political dialogue. In particular, maintaining a permanent dialogue in Parliament is a key element of democracy. To progress on the ambitious path towards EU membership, all political forces need to work together and rise above narrow party politics.”