Proactive EU push hopes to prevent marred elections
Holding undisputed elections seen as the most important indicator of whether Albania will make any progress toward EU membership, forcing EU officials to exert early pressure on Albanian government and opposition to work on creating culture of compromise.
TIRANA, Feb. 7, 2013 – Even before European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule stepped foot in Tirana this week, Albanian media and public knew why he was coming: to start pressuring the Albanian government, the opposition and other authorities early to make sure the June parliamentary elections go well, are held up to EU standards, and, most importantly, that they won’t be disputed by the loser.
Using his official feed on Twitter, the social networking site, he communicated directly with the Albanian public. “[I] came to Tirana to address [the] most crucial question of [the] Albanian modern state: What needs to be done for elections not to be contested,” he wrote.
In a land plagued by allegations of election rigging, whether real or perceived, faith in the electoral system is so low, EU authorities clearly see holding undisputed June elections as deal breaker on whether Albania will continue on the current path of nearly no progress on EU membership or whether it will move on the overdue journey.
But EU officials also realize that the problems with the elections are symptom of the wider culture of lack of faith in the system. ”Elections are important, but they won’t solve the critical issues: the absence of a culture of compromise and inclusion,” Fule noted during his visit.
Meetings’ details remain
a mystery
The commissioner, who oversees EU’s planned expansion in the Western Balkans, held several meetings with top officials in Tirana, which, judging by their length, were intense.
Unlike other visits, Fule declined to speak to the media. There was only a general statement about his visit a few hours after he left the country. Information released to the public by the officials he met in Albania was also limited to the official press releases each side issued. They noted the upcoming elections and Albania’s EU integration were the general topics of the meetings.
Fule’s press office said the commissioner told Albania’s President Bujar Nishani, Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama that the EU-related reforms need to be sustainable.
The commissioner told the government and the opposition that the EU Commission is determined to further strengthen Albania’s integration process toward the European Union. Albania has applied for EU membership, but the country has yet to impose a series of reforms before the commission approves its application for EU membership.
Albania applied for EU membership in 2009, but has been turned down as a candidate for failing to adequately strengthen and reform parliament and other democratic institutions.
Problematic history a cause
for concern
Despite clear progress in the past decade, including NATO membership in 2009, Albania remains one of Europe’s poorest countries with a culture and institutions that have yet to fully adapt to being a liberal capitalist democracy.
The country holds parliamentary elections on June 23, when some three million eligible voters will elect 140 lawmakers for a four-year term. Since the fall of communism in 1990 elections in Albania have shown serious shortcomings, with international election monitors noting voter manipulation and problems in ballot counting.
In his visit to Tirana, Commissioner Fule said these upcoming parliamentary elections will be a crucial test for the smooth functioning of the country’s democratic institutions. Fule urged the politicians to conduct the elections in line with international standards.
“Albania must improve the credibility and standing of the democratic institutions and strengthen the accountability of politicians toward the Albanian people,” he said.
The commissioner also discussed these issues with representatives of the diplomatic community in Albania, including with the ambassadors for the OSCE and the United States.
The 2013 elections are considered a key test for Albania’s further progress in its EU integration process, and a precondition for granting it candidate status. As such Brussels and as well as the 27 EU member states will be watching Albania closely.
After leaving Albania, Fule said on Twitter that he had tried to urge Albanian leaders put their words to deeds. That means that he had pledges from the government and the opposition of holding free and fair elections and also of continuing the required reforms.
The spirit of cooperation is still clearly missing, however.
Prime Minister Berisha was unusually quiet about the meeting, but speaking about election preparations and the worries the opposition has presented, Mr. Berisha said, “We have all the conditions, infrastructure and the iron will to hold free and fair elections. [Opposition leader Edi] Rama is preparing for his next justification for losing.”
The Socialist Party said in a press release that the commissioner and the opposition leader shared concern about the state of democracy and the rule of law on the eve of parliamentary elections.
“Rama presented concrete proposals to ensure the integrity of free elections, and to ensure that after June 23 Albania is liberated from previous constraints,” the Socialists’ press release said.
Worrying signs of conflict ahead of elections
Independent analysts see worrying signs at the latest public discourse in Albania, where EU integration has become part of political blame on both sides and that Albania’s political parties are already at each-other’s throats over preparations for the elections — ranging from how mandates are distributed to technicalities of the process itself.
Both main parties blame each other of “blocking” the road of Albania to EU membership. In the last three months, the government has accused the main opposition Socialist Party and its leader of blocking the process of European integration by not voting on three laws in parliament which require more than a simple majority, thus which must have the opposition’s votes.
The opposition has conditioned consensus on these three laws with implementing current laws and the proper functioning of law in a dispute in the local council in the District of Fier, where the opposition says blatant disregard for laws and court rulings has cost it its majority in the council. Laws currently in the books are not properly applied, says the opposition, bringing the example of Fier.
It appears EU Enlargement Commissioner Fule’s arrival was aimed at shifting focus to make sure the atmosphere is conducive to free and fair elections — urging both sides to cultivate a culture of dialogue and compromise.
Analysts note Albania can ill afford to go to the elections with a spirit of conflict. The lack of compromise and fighting over technicalities so early in the elections process is worrying, and local experts are urging for strong pressure from the EU and other international bodies to make sure holding proper elections becomes more important than everything else in the next few months.
