TIRANA, April 21 – Albania has stagnated in seven key indicators, according to the latest Freedom House Countries in Transition report, remaining a partly-free state, a category that includes those countries where democratic institutions are fragile and where there are fundamental challenges to the protection of political rights and civil liberties.
The report notes that governance at the national level is democratic, but dominated by clientelist party politics. Elections are generally competitive, but they are often marred by vote-buying, vote-rigging and other shortcomings. The report also assesses that civil society plays a somewhat active role in relation to debate and public interests, but it suffers from insufficient funding and inadequate involvement in policy consultation, as required by law.
According to Freedom House, the media in Albania is partially independent and offers a certain level of monitoring of the work of those who hold public office, but most media owners, the report says, use their media platforms to lobby government and political parties. In terms of local government, it is seen as democratic, but seriously unfunded and unqualified to provide adequate services to citizens.
The report notes that the judiciary continues to be under an ongoing process of vetting the purity of the image of its members until the end of 2024, and consequently functions only partially. Since the beginning of the vetting process, expectations have increased that the justice system will be more effective and more independent, but the report states that it has not yet provided concrete evidence that it is acting freely.
As for corruption, the report says it is still widespread, causing problems in various branches of government. But the report notes that the new law enforcement agencies, established in 2019, are showing encouraging results in the fight against corruption and organized crime.
Since 1995, the Freedom House report on Countries in Transition has assessed the state of democracy in 29 countries, stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia.
The organization bases its assessment on seven categories, such as the electoral process, civil society, media independence, democratic governance at the national level, local government, the judiciary and its independence, and corruption. The rating is made from 1 to 7 points, where 1 is the lowest level of democracy and 7 is the highest level.
In Albania, democratic governance at the national level remains at the same levels as the previous two years, with 3.25 points (2020-2022), but nevertheless this indicator has decreased compared to the other five years, from 2015 to 2019, when it was calculated at 3.50 points.
In the civil society indicator, Albania is evaluated with the same figure as a year ago, 4.75 points, but this reflects a decrease compared to the previous 8 years (2013-2020) when this indicator had maintained a constant of 5 points.
The judicial system and its independence, according to the report, have remained at the same levels since 2013, being evaluated with 3.25 points. So is corruption, which is estimated at 2.75 points since 2013.
The element of democracy for 2022 is seen at the levels of 2021, with 3.75 points, but which nevertheless reflects a decline compared to an upward trend, which was observed from 2014 to 2020.
The report says that the foundations of democracy in Albania were put to the test in 2021, the year when the tenth multi-party parliamentary elections were held, since the fall of communism.
“Most of the public debates, before and after the election, were filled with mutual accusations and divisive rhetoric from the leaders of the main political parties and the President, which led to incidents of public intimidation, injuries and even deaths during election campaigns,” the report notes.
The report goes on to say that the parliamentary elections were generally well administered. The Central Election Commissioner was able to provide new technological tools for voter identification on election day, and new counting technologies were used at various polling stations. But, nevertheless, according to the report, the integrity of the election was not completely intact, due to credible allegations of vote-buying, intimidation and violence.
The report also addresses the issue of leakage of personal data of hundreds of thousands of Albanian citizens during 2021, focusing on the leak of a sensitive personal database of 910,000 Albanians, suspected of being used by the ruling Socialist Party and taken from a government portal providing public services (e-Albania).
As noted in the report, the Socialist Party initially denied the existence of this database, but Prime Minister Edi Rama later acknowledged that his party, since 2009, had maintained an internal database, gathering door-to-door information. within the so-called “patronage system.” Freedom House says no investigation has been launched into the matter on how political parties get or treat citizens’ personal data.
The report states that the violations in this regard and the consequences show that Albania has not yet taken seriously its laws on personal data protection.
The report also criticizes the Albanian opposition for using harsh rhetoric and creating what it deems were likely illegal units to forcefully protect votes during the elections.
The European Union, the report goes on to say, is funding a number of projects to support Albania’s institutional capacity building, particularly in the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption. But referring to a special report by the European Court of Auditors in January 2022 on EU support for the rule of law in the Western Balkans, Freedom House cites findings that “such support and funding has had little impact on advancing fundamental rule of law reforms due to insufficient political will and lack of commitment.”
The report states that “the EU’s support for corruption and the rule of law, as well as the U.S. State Department’s public determination, need to be understood in the broader context of international foreign policy goals in the Western Balkans.”
The desire is for them in Albania to have “a partner, who adheres to democratic norms and not problematic leaders, who produce artificial political crises for which the US and the EU are called to mediate.”
Freedom House says that if these international efforts are taken more seriously by Albania, political parties, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, they can serve as an impetus for further domestic reforms.
In the report, the independence of the press is estimated at 3.5 points, the same as in 2021, a decrease compared to at least two previous years when this indicator was estimated at 3.75 points.
Last year, 2021, was a challenging year for journalists due to threats, harassment and appalling working conditions, according to Freedom House.
According to the report, about eight people control most of the media market in Albania and use these platforms to lobby for their interests and maintain close ties with political parties.
“They [the media] also rely on blackmailing, or discrediting, people who speak out against their interests, or the political parties they support,” the report noted.
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights.
