TIRANA, Sept. 10 – Vote-buying, biased media and undue pressure on voters were among the concerns made in the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on Albania’s June 21 local elections.
Released this week, the report noted that there were widespread allegations of pressure on voters, which, together with observed instances on election day, raised concerns about the voters’ ability to cast their vote freely.
“Allegations of vote-buying persisted, involving all the main parties,” the report noted, adding “senior figures from the largest governing parties used state events and resources for campaign purposes, including handing out property legalization certificates. This blurred the separation between the state and party and is at odds with OSCE commitments.”
The report also noted concern regarding the lack of transparency and effectiveness of campaign finance regulations.
It also expressed concerns about the quality of media coverage Albanians received during the elections.
“Despite a large number of media outlets, their affiliation with the main political parties, resulting from media owners’ business interests, caused direct interference in editorial autonomy, self-censorship, and limited pluralism of viewpoints,” the report’s finding noted.
It added, “Campaign footage on television news was predominantly produced by the political parties themselves, blurring the strict separation between editorial content and political advertising.”
The observer mission recommended that additional efforts are needed to address the persistent issue of vote-buying, both through voter education and prosecutions, in order to restore confidence in the electoral process.
“A concrete and genuine commitment from political parties to condemn vote-buying practices could be made. Vote-buying should be clearly defined in the law and subject to proportionate and effective sanctions,” the report recommends.
It was also noted that these latest elections addressed some long-standing OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, including the promotion of women candidates, but recommended that legislation be reviewed in order to eliminate gaps and ambiguities identified.
“While the report notes that the Central Election Commission generally operated openly, it recommends that efforts be made to enhance the independence, impartiality and professional capacity of all election commissions,” ODIHR said in a statement.
The report saw the campaign environment as largely peaceful, with fundamental freedoms respected.
“However, in noting instances of the blurring of the line between the state and party, as well as widespread allegations of pressure on voters, the report recommends that the authorities take more resolute steps to prevent, identify, investigate and prosecute established violations. Measures to enhance the transparency of campaign finance are also recommended,” the statement said.
Citing concerns about political party interference in the media’s editorial autonomy, the report recommends that criminal provisions for defamation be replaced by civil remedies.
It further recommends abolishing legal provisions allowing for footage produced by political parties be aired on news programs.
ODIHR and the Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, with whom the ODIHR mission joined efforts for election day observation, had earlier said that while there was a distinct choice between a range of candidates and fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly were generally respected, the continued politicization of state institutions undermined the effective administration of the electoral process.
Overall, the election day was assessed positively, but many cases of group voting and some important procedural irregularities were observed.
The tone of the campaign was improved; however, the larger parties continued to make personal accusations and attempts to discredit other contestants.
Democrats say ODIHR report shows erosion of democracy, Socialists see improvements
TIRANA, Sept. 10 – The leading political parties in Albania have completely different views on the what the final ODIHR report on the June 21 local elections says.
For the Democrats it shows the elections were the worst ever in the past decade — for the Socialists, the complete opposite.
“There was no free and fair election,” said Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha. “The phrase … is not even included in the report.”
This, he says, is because the government violated basic standards of elections, marking steps back for Albanian democracy.
The government replied that the report identifies progress in comparison with previous electoral processes in the country, but it admitted that it also identifies gaps that remain to be addressed.
The ruling Socialists won the majority of mayoral seats across the country in the elections.
