Will the elections be over now that OSCE/ODIHR presented the final findings? Even though the new government has been sworn in, the elections are not over and they will not be so until the Socialist Party decides to mount its opposition in Parliament, rather than outside Parliament. One would think that the sixty-six seats it has in Parliament should be enough for it to make its many points inside the institution. However, that would mean that the SP comes to legitimise the elections it has thus far contested as manipulated. Going to Parliament would mean legitimising the government that came out of these allegedly manipulated elections.
This report is, unfortunately, very important in terms of sealing the question of these last elections. Of course, we all know the standards were not met. Of course, we all knew the observers would report much progress, but not enough. So, why is this report important, and why is its importance unfortunate?
The unfortunate importance of this report lies in the facts that Albania’s general election were once more contested and that Albania still lacks domestic actors that are objective and impartial enough to be alternative, credible sources of evaluation. Much distrust reigns supreme between everyone and everything remotely political. It is the politicisation of many civil society actors that leaves international organisations such as OSCE/ODIHR as the only credible evaluators of the integrity of the electoral process.
Losing elections has rarely ever been gracious in Albania, and it is to be expected that the losing party will contest the integrity of the electoral process. The SP is contesting elections arguing that the process was flawed to the extent of deforming the result. In the absence of alternative sources of impartiality and credibility, the SP rejection of these election results very much relies on OSCE/ODIHR conclusions. If this report would say the elections were manipulated, the SP argument would gain credibility. If it said otherwise, the SP argument would lose credibility. So, this report is very much the ac/discrediting authority for the government and the parliamentary boycott, depending on how one looks at it.
So then, what is the report’s verdict? As mentioned previously, the report says that much progress has been made, but the standards have not been fully met. The question is then, have they not been met to the extent of distorting election results or to an insignificant extent? Is this government legitimate or not? Reading through the report, you get the idea the extent of irregularities is significant, especially as it states that 1/3 of votes were counted badly or very badly. Though to different degrees, the report notes irregularities by both main parties, the DP and SP. Further down, then, comes a sentence that says “there was no evidence of irregular counting or manipulation of results, and no major irregularities at the Ballot Counting Centres, apart from the blockage of the count in some”. Of course Berisha and Rama read the report differently then. There is room enough for both to find support for their interests.
The verdict is inconclusive. Furthermore, grassroots support for the SP boycott is unknown. The country’s progress towards visa liberalisation and the EU is an immediate priority and duty to which such a boycott and spirit of conflict is detrimental. The SP does have sixty-six seats in Parliament through which much can be accomplished or stalled.
