International community to keep close eye on the polls

TIRANA, April 7 – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe last week said it would send hundreds of monitors to observe June’s national elections in Albania, where political tensions are running high.
An OSCE report, prepared by the ODIHR delegation that visited Albania in mid-March, said an initial mission has heard concerns that longstanding conflicts among Albania’s fractious political parties could affect the election. Previous elections in Albania have been marred by violence, accusations of vote-rigging and intimidation.
The mission will include 30 long-term and 400 short-term observers, the OSCE said Friday. It will be the 11th Albanian election monitored by an on-the-spot OSCE mission.
On June 23, some 3.3 million registered voters will elect 140 legislators for a four-year term. The two main parties are Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party and the Socialist Party of Edi Rama.
The United States embassy also reported a week earlier that it would spend some one million dollars in different projects to monitor elections and also to help the vote process.
The European Union has also made it clear that the June polls are key to the country’s further progress into the integration process. Albania has applied sine 2009 for the EU’s candidate status.
All these are clear indicators on the importance that the international community sets on the June elections.