International observers criticize holding of local polls in Albania

TIRANA, Feb. 19 – An International Election Observation Mission, present since mid-December to monitor the local polls preparation and voting, said Monday they were disappointed by the way they were held, giving a harsh blow to the government’s different claims. “The 18 February local elections in Albania represented a missed opportunity to conduct elections fully in line with international commitments and standards for democratic elections. Election day was calm overall, but voting was marred by procedural shortcomings and in some places, tension, said a statement on Monday. “After the 2005 parliamentary elections we said these were the best elections held in Albania. I don’t think you will find it in the text this time,” said Jorgen Grunnet, head of OHDIR,s mission.
Albanians voted Sunday to elect officials to local offices in 384 urban and rural communities in a contest between Democratic Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s 10-party governing coalition and Tirana Mayor Edi Rama’s five-party opposition grouping. It was yet unclear the turnout figure. Around 400 international monitors and 3000 local ones scrutinized the vote for mayors.
Results showed Rama as the winner in the Tirana electoral race, where the main political fight was concentrated. Electoral authorities have yet to publicize final official results. Authorities said that counting officials, representatives of different political groupings, were very nervous as they were tired of the prolonged process.
The international observation mission criticized political parties not living up to their legal responsibilities and that the “electoral environment was marked by uncertainty and lack of trust between key election stakeholders,” according to Grunnet. “The lack of constructive engagement by the political parties has brought back previous concerns regarding their willingness to co-operate with each other in ensuring that the elections are held in compliance with OSCE Commitments,” said Grunnet.
The IEOM called for a determined effort to establish a reliable system for civil registration before the next elections and urged political parties not to abuse the issue in their debates. Joseph Borg, who spoke on behalf of the delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, said: “Although there was a competitive contest, we observed widespread procedural shortcomings which disenfranchised many eligible voters”. “Generally, candidates and parties could register without impediment and were able to freely convey their views to the electorate. Still, a few candidates who attempted to register as independents appeared to encounter undue obstacles. Media provided a balanced coverage of the campaign and voters were able to make informed choices among a number of alternatives. However, the tone of the campaign deteriorated in the last week, focusing on personal attacks, and a few violent incidents were noted. On election day, procedural shortcomings were mainly related to the use of birth certificates. The voting centers opened late in a majority of polling stations where opening was observed, due to incomplete delivery of election material and late appointment of voting centers’ members. The visible ink used to mark voters’ fingers was controversial, with opposition parties claiming that it could easily be removed. Group voting was frequently observed, as well as isolated cases of proxy and multiple voting. In Tirana, the similar colors of some of the ballots led to confusion and may have resulted in a number of ballots being inserted in the wrong ballot boxes and thus rendered invalid,” said the statement.
Majlinda Bregu of the Democratic Party acknowledged shortcomings but blamed the late agreement saying that was achieved only to save the polls from becoming a total failure. Berisha considered the polls as the “best ever held in post-communist Albania”.
Albania’s two dominant parties in the post-communist era, the Socialists and the Democrats, have bitterly contested every election since 1991 in campaigns marred by harsh rhetoric and often ending with the parties refusing to accept results. Sunday’s polls were originally scheduled for Jan. 20 but were postponed. Western leaders had to intervene with firm warnings before the parties finally agreed on an intricate deal designed to prevent vote-rigging. Albania signed in June last year the Stabilization and Association Agreement, considered as a first step toward membership but the country is not yet considered ready for candidate status. Tirana also hopes to have the official invitation for a full membership into NATO next year.