With three out of seven CEC members missing, polls’ governance in question

TIRANA, April 23 – The Central Election Commission continues its work though three of its members proposed by the opposition have resigned their seats.
Following the replacement of the member of the Socialist Movement of Integration Party, or the LSI, last week with one from the Republican Party, two other members of the opposition Socialists and one of the Human Rights Union Party, also part of the opposition coalition, have left the CEC with only four members.
The LSI left the government earlier this month to join the Socialist-led opposition ahead of the June 23 elections. After that the governing coalition led from the Democratic Party replaced its member at the CEC. The opposition condemned the vote, arguing that there was no legal basis to dismiss the commissioner and that his sacking put the independence of the CEC at risk.
The CEC is a seven-member collegial body tasked with overseeing elections in Albania. Although its members are proposed by political parties under a formula that grants the ruling coalition the right to propose four of the seven members, the CEC is considered an independent institution.
The international community has urged Albania’s political parties to urgently resolve the current row, which is hampering the functioning of the CEC. Since Albania joined the Council of Europe in 1995, Tirana has never held an election that fully meets international democratic standards.