Better polls, but still flaws, says ODIHR

TIRANA, Sep. 14 – International observers said on Monday that despite improvement political interference in Albania’s June 28 parliamentary election prevented them from meeting the highest standards for democratic elections.
Some 400 international election observers monitored Albania’s election process, considered an important test for the tiny Balkan country’s progress towards democracy.
A report of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said that Albania’s June 28 parliamentary election marked tangible progress in the voter registration and identification process, the legal framework, the voting, counting and the adjudication of election disputes.
“These substantial improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the process, including during the vote count and tabulation, which temporarily blocked the counting process in some areas, as well as by violations observed during the election campaign,” it added.
“While meeting most OSCE commitments, this election did not fully realize Albania’s potential to adhere to the highest standards for democratic elections.”
Conservative Democratic Party’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha was re-elected, and together with allies controls 70 seats in the 140-member parliament, while the Socialists and their supporters have 66 seats. The leftist LSI party, with the four remaining seats, has agreed to join a coalition with Berisha’s Democrats.
Berisha named his new cabinet last week, giving key posts to small leftist partners.
The parliament is expected to vote the new cabinet and government programme this week.
President Bamir Topi also decreed the ministers’ list Monday.
The main opposition Socialist Party is boycotting parliament, claiming the June 28 general election was rigged by Berisha’s supporters. They are demanding that parliament investigate the election fraud allegations and pass legislation required for the process.
Berisha denies the allegations.
International observers said that despite fulfilling part of the previous recommendations, the electoral code had “unclear or vague provisions” that should be amended “to bring the legal framework fully in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards.”
The report especially criticized political interference in the vote count, which they assessed as “bad or very bad” in one-third of the ballot counting centers.
The report also noted political interference in the media hampering the editorial quality.
Parties should demonstrate the political will for the conduct of democratic elections commensurate with the broad privileges they enjoy under the law in regard to the conduct of elections. They should discharge their electoral duties in a responsible manner for the
general interest of Albania. This extends to the performance of election commissioners and elected and appointed officials at all levels, who should refrain from basing election related actions and decisions on political considerations, according to the report.
Immediately after the report was issued, Berisha came out at a news conference to hail the report as the best ever done for elections in post-communist Albania.
Berisha considered it as a very objective evaluation and also pledged that his government would continue to make further reforms in order that next elections, starting from the local ones of 2011, are in full compliance with international standards.
The premier also called on the opposition to read the report and see that the government, police and secret police were never mentioned of negatively influencing the vote.
Albania, which joined NATO this year and is seeking EU membership, wants to improve its election record, which in the past has been marred by violence and irregularities.
Some 50 percent of Albania’s 3.1 million registered voters cast ballots in the election – 1 percent above the turnout figure for the previous parliamentary polls in 2005.