Mission chief declines to make any comparisons or to define whether the elections were better, worse or equal compared either to previous ones in the country or to other countries
TIRANA, June 22 – The international observers’ mission of OSCE/ODIHR issued their preliminary findings Monday, largely green-lighting the process, but also addressing some concerns, including those concerning allegations of vote-buying in Albania’s June 21 local elections.
Several journalists complained at the press conference that the language of the report was not entirely clear on some issues, and the mission’s leader, Audrey Glover, declined to make any comparisons or to define whether the elections were better, worse or equal compared either to previous ones in the country or to other countries.
Nevertheless, the elections did not see any significant violent acts, and international observers noted no major irregularities.
However they noted the electoral process was damaged by harsh language and the involvement of national politicians in local campaigns, adding that the legal framework and the central election authority management need to be improved.
The opposition Democrats have accused the government of pressuring voters during the electoral process.
In his first appearance since Sunday, Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama said the June 21 elections were the best the post-communist country has had so far, but acknowledged the shortcomings noted by the international observers and pledged to improve.
Reforms concluded at the end of last year, and mediated from the European Parliament, shrank the number of municipal elections from 373 to cut costs and boost local decision-making, putting Albania more in line with EU standards.
The ODIHR/Council of Europe mission issued a statement saying that while “voters were offered a distinct choice from among a range of candidates and fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly were generally respected, the politicization of institutions involved in the June 21 local elections in Albania undermined the effective administration of the process.”
The observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and the European Union’s Committee of the Regions assessed election day positively, although they noted cases of group voting and some procedural irregularities.
“The Central Election Commission generally operated openly. The politicized nature of its discussions, however, resulted in inconsistent decisions, undermining public confidence in the independence of election administration,” the statement said. “Campaigning was active and visible in urban areas and low-key in rural areas, and while the tone was improved, the larger parties continued to employ personal accusations.”
In total, 63 parties were registered in the elections, as well as 158 mayoral candidates and more than 36,341 candidates for municipal councils.
“While this provided voters with a range of political alternatives, the inconsistent application of candidate registration rules hindered citizens’ rights to stand on an equal basis,” the observers said.
In addition, there were widespread allegations of pressure on voters, which raised concerns about their ability to cast ballots free of fear of retribution, the observers said.
“A number of senior figures from the largest governing parties used state events and resources for campaign purposes, including handing out certificates giving individuals legal rights to properties,” according to the report.
Despite the large number of media outlets, their affiliation with the main political parties led to direct interference in editorial autonomy and limited pluralism of viewpoints.
All parties met the new requirement of a 50/50 gender balance on their candidate lists. Ten per cent of mayoral candidates were women. Increased attention was paid to women voters, including in campaign platforms and voter education, the report noted.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana said in a statement they congratulated the citizens of Albania for peacefully exercising their democratic right to vote in the local elections.
“Counting of the votes is continuing and we call upon democratic institutions to ensure a speedy and thorough certification of the results,” the U.S. Embassy statement said. “We echo the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary findings on the local elections and share their concerns about vote buying, allegations of pressure on voters, politicized electoral institutions, and other irregularities.”
It urged the Albanian government and political parties to work to address these findings and other ODIHR recommendations.
The EU Delegation in Tirana said it had followed the preparations for the elections very closely and it congratulated Albanians for their participation and determination to exercise their democratic right to vote.
“In line with the preliminary findings and observations by OSCE/ODIHR issued today, pointing to a number of challenges, the EU Delegation encourages the competent authorities to ensure proper follow-up,” the EU statement noted.
