CEC launches request for commissioners

TIRANA, Feb. 22 – The Central Election Commission on Monday launched a public announcement for candidates to fill the positions, after the opposition missed a deadline to nominate candidates of their choice.
The vacancies are the opposition slots for representatives on the Commissions of Electoral Administration Zones, CEAZs, the local bodies which actually count the ballots in Albania’s twelve electoral zones.
According to the Electoral Code, the political parties should have proposed their candidates for commissioners by January 24 and the CEAZs should have been established by February 7.
Although Socialist opposition leader Edi Rama only a few days ago said that his party will not boycott the May 8 ballot, the Socialists say they are seeking additional assurances that the polls will not be marred by electoral fraud.
The OSCE has backed the CEC’s move to push the preparations for the elections forward, while panning a possible opposition boycott.
“The public announcement of the vacancies in the CEAZs to be filled soon is an important and decisive step guaranteeing full transparency of the election process vis-ஶis citizens,” said OSCE head in Albania Eugen Wollfarth.
“I welcome this step and note that it only became necessary after some parties’ refusal to participate in democratic procedures according to rules they had co-authored and decided themselves,” he added.
But it is unclear how the election infrastructure will proceed and how the political fight will affect their holding.