OSCE/ODIR reminds Albania of polls preparation

TIRANA, May 27 – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reminded the Albanian government that the election preparations still had problems like the issuing of the new identity cards for the non-passport holders in the country.
The ODIR presented its interim report Tuesday ahead of the June 28 parliamentary elections in Albania where Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party-led coalition will be challenged from the Socialist party-led coalition of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama.
“The issue of new ID cards is the most contentious issue in the election process thus far,” said the report.
Albania should show that it can hold free-and-fair elections to further its goal of forging closer ties to Western Europe. Albania formally joined NATO this year and applied for candidate status at the European Union.
Past elections have frequently been marred by irregularities.
The ODIR has set its first team of 40 international experts to Albania to set up the observer mission. They will be supported by 400 more observers on election day.
The ODIHR’s interim report said that 36 political parties had submitted candidate lists to the Central Election Commission (CEC) and 33 parties will contest the elections as part of one of four coalitions.
On the issue of the new IDs the report said that of a total of around 730,000 eligible voters who do not possess a passport, around 354,000 had applied for an ID card as of 19 May, according to information from the Interior Ministry. An estimated 160,000 Albanian voters are believed to be abroad without valid documents. Some 220,000 eligible voters appear not to have applied for a new ID card so far. The ministry is confident that it would be able to process this number in time for the elections, while others have questioned whether the company contracted to manage the application centers and produce the ID cards has the capacity to cope with a possibly high number of applicants late in the process.
Opposition parties have complained that the process of obtaining a new ID card is unnecessarily cumbersome, and some, in particular the SP, have claimed that applications are being processed selectively in some areas, to the disadvantage of their supporters.
The initial price of 1,200 ALL (around 9 EUR) caused a controversy between the Government and the opposition, which demanded that ID cards be issued free of charge in the run-up to the elections. In January, the Government decided that certain categories of citizens would pay a reduced fee or would be exempt from paying for a new ID card, provided they do not possess a passport. After intense negotiations, a compromise was reached between the DP and SP on 28 April that the initial fee to be paid for ID cards by those without passports would be reduced to 200 ALL (under 2 EUR), with the remainder to be paid by the citizen later on. The Government on 30 April opened a credit line to implement that agreement.
Media coverage of the election campaign is monitored by a Media Monitoring Board, established by the CEC on 19 May and regulated by the Electoral Code.
In order to assess the media coverage of the campaign, the OSCE/ODIHR EOM has, since 18 May, been conducting media monitoring of the prime-time broadcasting of five television channels (TVSH, Top Channel, TV Klan, Vizion Plus and News24) and of the content of four daily newspapers (Panorama, Shqip, Gazeta Shqiptare and 55).
The ODIHR reminded Albania that in its last two elections _ parliamentary elections of July 2005 and the local elections of February 2007 _ it had assessed both elections as having complied only in part with OSCE commitments despite marking some progress and providing for a competitive contest.
The political environment remains highly polarized between the DP and the SP, said the report. While smaller parties objected to the new electoral system, many concluded that their prospects would be greater within a coalition, and most of them joined one of the four coalitions for these elections.
The Alliance for Change registered as a coalition made up of 17 parties, including the DP of Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Sixteen parties in the coalition submitted candidate lists to the CEC.
Other parties in the coalition which are represented in the outgoing Parliament include the Republican Party, the Environmental Agrarian Party, the Democratic Alliance Party, and the Liberal Democratic Union. The Union for Change coalition is made up of five parties, including the SP, as well as the Social Democratic Party and the Social Democracy Party, which also have seats in the outgoing Parliament. The Human Rights Union Party (HRUP) participated in the current DP-led Government, but joined the SP-led coalition just before the deadline for the registration of coalitions. The Union for Change also includes a new party, G99, which was created by prominent civil-society figures.
The Socialist Alliance for Integration is a six-party coalition led by the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI), which competes with the SP for the left-wing vote. It also includes the Real Socialist Party ’91, a party formed at the beginning of 2009 following a split within the SP. The six-party Freedom Pole, a centre-right coalition, was formed in April 2009. It includes the Movement for National Development and the Demo-Christian Party, the latter of which was part of the DP-led bloc in the 2005 elections.
While the official 30-day campaign period does not begin until 29 May, parties are already campaigning actively, with leading political figures touring the country. Despite the formation of coalitions, campaign activities so far have been by parties individually, rather than by coalitions jointly. Many smaller coalition members stress the wish to assert their distinct identities.
The DP emphasizes its achievements in Government, including NATO membership and application for EU membership, as well as infrastructure development and the fight against corruption. Opposition parties promise improvements in areas such as infrastructure, education and healthcare. The SP and the DP accuse each other of corruption. Opposition parties allege that the DP has benefited from televised public-information campaigns stressing the Government’s achievements, broadcast at a time before the official campaign, when parties are not allowed to have political advertisement on television.
There is a marked lack of trust among many political parties towards the election administration.
Many smaller parties express dissatisfaction with the Electoral Code for giving a dominant role in the election administration to the DP and the SP, at the expense of others. Many parties have expressed fears of irregularities on election day, especially during the counting process.