TIRANA, May 15 – U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Brian Yee said Monday in Tirana that the international community will recognize Albania’s parliamentary elections even without the participation of the opposition, provided they are deemed credible by the international observers and CEC.
Addressing a roundtable with young reporters, the U.S. diplomat called on Albania’s opposition to end its boycott and participate in next month’s parliamentary election.
“If some parties exclude themselves or are excluded from the elections, this is damaging not only to the country and its institutions, but its image outside, first and foremost I think to Europe,” said Yee.
“It is very important that Albania continue to demonstrate that it is a stable, functional democracy, inclusive democracy. And, to foreign investors it is very important to see that there is a functional, stable, predictable democracy where investments are safe,” he added.
The Democratic Party led-opposition has boycotted parliament since February hampering the implementation of the judiciary reform and has decided to boycott the elections, claiming that the government will rig the vote. The Democratic Party chairman has also called for a caretaker government that would guarantee free and fair elections.
There are 17 political parties registered for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 18.
Yee who made the latest effort to promote dialogue, said that boycott does not help and is not a winning strategy.
“In our view, elections are always better when there is the widest possible participation of political parties and that is because the people of a country should be represented in government. In order to be represented, there must be a wide range, not only one party, but other parties participating,” he said.
“Elections should be inclusive; they should include as many parties as possible. If parties decide not to participate in the elections, that is their right not to participate,” he declared, adding that “boycotts do are not a winning tactic.”
The U.S. official called for compromise between political parties but recalled that the ‘government will not accept an indefinite delay of elections.
“We believe time is running out; that the time for reaching an agreement, if there is going to be an agreement, is very limited,” he stated.
He reminded opposition parties of Theodore Roosevelt’s belief that ‘courageous leaders are the ones in the arena, the ones who stay in the arena, not the ones who sit on the sidelines as spectators or critics.”
The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Asked also commented on the influence of Russia in Western Balkans and called for vigilance. “We are watching very carefully what Russia is doing, and we take steps to protect ourselves,” he said.
“Russia has tried to interfere in a number of elections, including ours, to have an effect on how democratic processes take place,” he concluded.
Tirana was the last leg of Yee’s regional tour in the Balkans. During the day he held meetings with the ruling Socialist Party leader and Prime Minister, Edi Rama, speaker of parliament and President elect Ilir Meta as well the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha.
The Democratic Party chairman accused the prime minister of trying to bribe opposition parties to attend the polls and underlined that “there will be no elections without the opposition.”
On Monday, Central Elections Commission (CEC) approved 39 OSCE/ODIHR mission observers and 7 observers of the National Democratic Institution (NDI) that will monitor the elections of June 18. Meanwhile, the Coalition of Domestic Observers issued a statement calling for the main parties in Albania to work together and solve the stalemate for the sake of a normal election process.
“Integrity and U.S.’s strong assistance is the best opportunity to achieve an agreement based on principles that help democracy,” the statement read.
“This is a last major chance for consensus in order for Albania’s democracy to not self destruct,” it concluded.
