Ombudsman asks no children for political campaign

TIRANA, April 28 – Ombudsman Ermir Dobjani loudly called on the political parties in Albania to avoid exploiting children for their political purposes.
Dobjani asked the political parties not to exploit children like decorations in their political rallies ahead of the June 28 parliamentary elections.
Dobjani asked the Minister of Education Fatos Beja to urgently take steps to stop such a phenomenon.
He asked the minister to issue an order stopping students from taking part in political rallies during lesson hours.
“One should not forget that children do not have the intellectual, mental and physical maturity and very often they do not understand the purpose of such rallies,” Dobjani said.
The ombudsman said that his inspectors had noted that children take very active part in the rallies held from the political parties ahead of the polls.
The new electoral code passed with amendments last year has not included prohibiting children from such participation.