TIRANA, June 16 – Economy tops Albanians’ concerns ahead of the upcoming June 25 general elections, a nationwide survey conducted by the Albanian Institute for International Studies has found.
The survey shows the respondents, three quarters of whom said they would vote in the upcoming elections, are practical and pragmatic about their concerns with basic needs such employment, poverty, education and health topping the list.
Asked about the biggest problem Albanians currently face, about a third of respondents rated the economic crisis as the top concern, said Alba à‡ela, the AIIS deputy director introducing the survey findings.
The Albanian economy has been growing between 1 to 3 percent in the past eight years compared to a pre-crisis decade of six percent annually, which experts says brings much-needed welfare for households.
Financially supported by the U.S. embassy’s Democracy Commission Small Grants Program, an AIIS team carried out 1,200 face-to-face interviews in February 2017 to measure Albanian democracy and society ahead of the June general elections.
One out of five respondents said lack of rule of law and corruption were the second and third top issues concerning Albanians. The two long-standing issues are directly related to the justice reform Albania is on the verge of implementing after a unanimous vote in mid-2016 in a bid to overhaul the highly perceived corrupt judiciary, a key issue Albania needs to tackle in order to strengthen rule of law, launch EU accession negotiations and improve the business climate.
When it comes to personal issues, low income, unemployment and poverty were three top three concerns for Albanians, who already have a high migration rate and rank among the top globally for willingness to migrate.
The perceived quality of education and healthcare remains poor, especially for the more sensitive health sector with about two-thirds of surveyed people rating its service quality as ‘low’ and ‘very low.’
When it comes to problems of democracy, Albanians rate political conflict and lack of free and fair elections as the main issues.
The run up to the general or local elections has always been accompanied by political conflict in the country’s past 25 years of transition to democracy while no single election has been rated by international observers as fully free and fair.
Other issues concerning Albanians include the pronounced economic inequality, lack of rotation among the political elite and communist past.
About half of respondents say creating new job opportunities and combating poverty should be the top priorities of the new government out of the June 25 general elections.
About half think women’s representation in political parties should increase to 50 percent, up from a current 30 percent target.
Ryan Roberts, the U.S. embassy’s Public Affairs Officer in Tirana, said the findings contribute to the substantive discussion and raise awareness about democracy and elections in the country.
AIIS head Albert Rakipi said the survey focused on real issues preoccupying citizens on the verge of elections.
“The project, despite modest targeted key issues facing the country’s democracy and elections to observe the citizens’ expectations without going into details that would politicize it ahead of the elections,” said Rakipi.
With campaigning for the June 25 general election in full swing following a late May deal breaking a three-month political deadlock, all three main running parties, the ruling Socialist Party, the opposition Democratic Party and the third largest Socialist Movement for Integration, have focused their electoral platforms on creating jobs and offering lower taxes.
