TIRANA, July 16 – Democracy in Albania deteriorated during the last year, according to Freedom House’s “Nations in Transit 2020” report.
The Washington-based organization reports that Albania’s Democracy Score declined from 3.89 to 3.82 in 2019, remaining a hybrid regime, which classifies between autocracy and democracy. Albania scored poorly in the “judicial framework and independence” (3.25 points) category as a result of the lack of transparency of institutions in charge of proposing members to the new judicial bodies and the corruption (2.75 points) category due to lack of impunity.
Furthermore, the report points out that Albania scored lower than a year ago in “democratic governance” (3.25 points), due to a series of crises affecting institutions, including the resignation of the parliamentary opposition bloc, a procedure for ousting the President and clashes between the courts and parliament. Lack of progress was noted in “media independence” (3.75 points) and “electoral processes” (4.25 points) as well, due to obstacles in completing the electoral reform and the political clashes regarding early elections.
Media independence was constantly challenged throughout the year, culminating with the anti-defamation legislative package adopted by Parliament.
Serious attacks against journalists and general concerns over shrinking media freedom further escalated in 2019, with smear campaigns, chronic attacks on reporters, and the shutting down of critical TV programs, according to the report.
The government, as well as businesses and criminal groups, sought to gain outside influence over the media, while media owners regularly use them to favor their business or political interests. Prime Minister Edi Rama and other Socialist Party representatives continued to criticize the Albanian media as a “trash bin” and threatened journalists with accusations of defamation, Freedom House said.
Freedom House also stated that particularly troubling developments were noted in the legislative process and law enforcement on concessions and PPPs. Parliament passed several laws on PPPs and concession projects, despite warnings from international bodies and local experts.
