As coalitions work to select municipal election candidates, more guarantees are needed that good administrators and quality people will be given the chance to run
Albania heads to the polls in late June to select new leaders for its municipalities, and an informal campaign by candidates in the major coalitions has already started as would-be mayors joggle for position to become official candidates of their respective parties. In some political strongholds, this primary selection virtually guarantees election.
Yet, as is the case with lists of members of parliament, there is no official primary vote and transparency in the campaigning and selection of these candidates. The big party bosses in Tirana often hold the key to official candidacy.
This situation is not good for Albanian democracy because it limits discussions and transparency.
These new mayoral seats have become particularly important, since under the country’s new territorial division, the number of municipalities has been drastically cut to 61. As a result, a mayoral seat – for much of the country – is now roughly six times more important in terms of population and territory.
In addition, mayors run many of the everyday affairs of the citizens they serve. They are, in essence, city managers, not just politicians. The parties need to offer guarantees that good administrators and quality people will be given a chance to run ahead of mediocre political activists with the right ties. It is important that the party leaders and other people responsible for the selection process do not fall in the trap of simply selecting party or leadership loyalists at the expense of the quality or the ability of the candidate to manage the municipalities.
Moreover, Albania has a dismal record when it comes to gender equality among candidates in municipal elections. Mayors have been overwhelmingly male and not a single major city is run by a woman.
But there is already some encouraging news on that front. It appears likely, though not certain at this point, that in some places, like Gjirokatra, for example there will be women candidates from both major coalitions, virtually guaranteeing that there will be a woman mayor.
The big prize, however, is the Municipality of Tirana, which has now been enlarged to encompass much of the former Tirana District. The Mayor of Tirana seat has often been important not solely because it’s the country’s largest, but also because it has been a sort of “prime minister in waiting” type of position.
The seat is currently held by the opposition leader, Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha. He is likely not to run again to focus on party affairs. Several names have been publicly discussed from the Democrats, including Basha, but no final candidate emerged yet.
The Socialists, on their end, have said they are likely to run a female candidate for Tirana. That remains to be seen as many male activists are strongly campaigning for the seat as well.
There is, of course, the chance that an independent candidate will run. These candidates, whether from small fringe parties or acting on their own, have in the past simply served as a diversion, taking votes from one of the major parties and giving an edge to the other. However, if an independent candidate comes along and inspires voters, anything is possible at a time when many Albanians feel jaded with their political class.
Ultimately, potential independents aside, it is the duty of the Albanian political parties to offer the best women and men available for the jobs, so citizens can have quality choices when they head to the polls and ultimately so these new, larger municipalities can have good managers when the elections are over.
