Thousands of observers to monitor polls

TIRANA, May 5 – May 8 elections will be monitored by more than 5355 observers, who have been accredited close to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has launched a monitoring mission in Albania for the local elections.
Its top official Jonathan Stonestreet has urged Albanian political parties to help ensure the process is free of irregularities, which have marred previous elections in the country.
The OSCE’s ODIHR will have 39 long-term and some 400 short-term observers monitoring the vote.
CEC has accredited 5300 observers, 500 of whom come from OSCE, 63 of them come from the US embassy in Tirana, including Ambassador Arvizu.
OSCE and in this case ODIHR is with numerous observers in the country and they will observe how the process of the elections is developing, especially during election day and throughout the counting process.