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ELECTIONS

International observers say elections marked tangible progress, but problems persist

The representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, in a press conference yesterday, made a preliminary assessment of the 28 June elections in Albania. The observers said the elections marked tangible progress with regard to the introduction of new voter registration and identification procedures, and the adoption of an improved legal framework. But the observers also noted that these improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the process and violations observed during the campaign which undermined public confidence in the electoral process. Election Day was overall calm and peaceful and the atmosphere was improved. Observers assessed the voting process slightly more positively than in previous elections, but noted procedural violations related in particular to inking procedures and widespread family voting. The International Election Observation Mission said it was too early to make a definite assessment, as the vote count and tabulation of results have yet to be completed.

“The country has matured, it has made progress, and many of the fears we had only some months ago have not materialized. I’m certainly happy about the progress we saw, but there is also a considerable number of issues that need to be tackled, in particular the polarized political climate,” said Wolfgang Grossruck, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission.

“These elections demonstrated that the Albanian people have the whole potential for building a democratic society alike that in other European countries. Now there is a huge responsibility of the authorities and main political stakeholders to work hard in order to establish confidence among the citizens for a democratic electoral process,” said Corien Jonker, Head of the delegation of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.

“Our report reveals positive but also some negative developments in the conduct of these elections. Progress has been achieved since the last parliamentary elections in 2005. However, greater efforts still need to be made by all political forces in order to meet demanding international standards,” said Bruce George, Head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The new electoral code agreed to by both main political parties introduced a number of important improvements and safeguards, in particular with regard to voter registration and identification. It is unfortunate that the high level of distrust among parties, the use of official events for campaign purposes and allegations of pressure on voters did not increase public confidence in the election process,” said Ambassador Audrey Glover, Head of the long-term election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). [Note: The Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission is available on http://www.osce.org/documents/pdf_documents/2009/06/38511-2.pdf]

Statements of other foreign/international officials

The International Mission’s preliminary conclusions were commented upon by the EU Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, and the United States Ambassador to Albania, John L. Withers II.

Rehn stated: “I take note of the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary conclusions stating that tangible progress has been made in some areas. However, these improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the election process as well by violence during the election campaign. The Election Day was overall calm and peaceful. There were also slight improvements concerning the voting process although some procedural violations were observed. I agree with the OSCE/ODIHR election mission statement that the definite assessment of the elections can not be done before the vote counting and tabulation is completed. However, these elections clearly underline the need for the Albanian political leadership, across the party lines, to work hard in order to conduct elections in the future which fully meet international standards and have high public confidence of the Albanian voters.” 

The European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana praised the Albanian people yesterday for their commitment in these elections and asked the political parties to transform this willpower of the people into continuation of the reforms started during the past four years. He said that the EU and other international institutions are waiting for the elections result. Solana advised the political parties to reaffirm their commitment on the necessary reforms including the sufficient administrative capability to guarantee the implementation of these reforms.

In his statement, Ambassador Withers said: “I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the people of Albania on yesterday’s Parliamentary vote and to offer my praise for elections that, overall, were well-regulated and calm. We now await the completion of the vote count and the official tabulation of the results in the same orderly manner. The International Election Monitoring Mission has produced a thoughtful and objective preliminary report that characterizes these elections as an improvement over past practices, but that also expresses concern over remaining flaws in the process. I concur with these findings and urge the Albanian authorities to build on yesterday’s success to meet higher, more demanding international standards on future occasions. Again, I commend the people of Albania on yesterday’s strong showing and offer my best wishes for the future.”

U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), and Deputy Head of the OSCE Election Observation Mission in Albania, issued the following statement today on Sunday’s Albanian elections: “My preliminary assessment is that many aspects of the June 28 parliamentary elections in Albania were a clear improvement over previous years. Of course, the process is still ongoing, but the transparency and reliability of the count will determine the success of this election. The election proceeded in a calm and orderly manner… During the campaign, the polarized political climate which overshadowed earlier elections continued. The serious lack of trust between the major parties resulted in accusations of political manipulation and voter coercion. Concerns over possible intimidation also resulted in late appointments of party representatives to polling station committees. This resulted in under-trained officials struggling with new procedures.
Nevertheless, on Election Day, there was little evidence of widespread problems due to harassment or political pressure. These elections were a positive indicator that Albania, as a new NATO member, is serious in its efforts to make its election system more transparent and accountable. At this stage, the count not withstanding, Albania had a real election and that is a positive sign. [Note: The statement is available on http://www.csce.gov]

DP, SP, SMI reactions to international observers’ statement

Asked by the journalists to comment on internationals’ preliminary statement and findings, spokesperson of the Democratic Party (DP) electoral campaign and Minister of Integration Majlinda Bregu said: “I believe that all we heard from the observers’ preliminary report is just an expected confirmation of the assessment of the reality of the electoral process in Albania, a process that was rated as a process with a tangible progress.
There was a positive assessment for all the efforts made to improve the electoral infrastructure in general, including the voter list preparation, the National Civil Status Register, which is now a modern one, as well as the preparation of ID cards. So, all the elements that the SP tried to misuse in the Elections, such as Gërdec, ID cards or other manipulations, did not work and shall not work; nor shall other lies through which in these moments they are trying to regretfully keep alive their counters, who are accomplishing their mission according to the law.”

The Socialist Party (SP) spokesperson, Armela Imeraj, said: “The Socialist Party followed attentively the press conference of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. Regretfully, once more the internationals indicated that Albania has not met the required standards. We call on Prime Ministers Berisha to heed to and to absorb the OSCE/ODIHR remarks in the report given a few minutes ago. There is still time to show that his Government is able to conduct itself as the government of a NATO member country that aspires EU integration.”

On behalf of the Socialist Movement for Integration, its spokesperson Ralf Gjoni said: “The Socialist Movement for Integration commends the ambassadors of NATO, OSCE/ODIHR, CoE on their recent report on elections in Albania. We consider this report to be a positive contribution from the international community to the progress of the electoral process and thank the OSCE/ODIHR observers for the work they have done until now in reporting the incidents and the general situation of the counting process. As we have underlined yesterday and as it was confirmed in the report of the international community, Albania has made progress in the electoral standards and we share with them the same concern, that our country still has a lot of work to do towards guaranteeing full standards in order to make sure we are given the right to join the EU. During the voting process, our observers noted several problems, such as delays with the opening of polling stations, the potential for removing the ink mark, group voting and sporadic intimidation of our observers. Considering the ongoing of the counting process, we take the opportunity to express once more our previously stated concern that the adopted Electoral Code was not the proper Code for Albania and it clearly jeopardizes the free vote of the Albanian citizens, increasing the potential for uncertainties regarding the elected representatives… We are confident that the final outcome will confirm the key role SMI is destined to play in the formation of the new government, and we assure the Albanian people that we will work in conjunction with the national and international stakeholders with the aim of ensuring the meeting of the requirements for Albania’s swift EU accession.”

Berisha says he will accept elections’ results   

Prime Minister Berisha guaranteed yesterday during a press conference that he will accept the result of the elections, even if Democratic Party (DP) does not win. With regards to the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary report, Berisha stressed that the final report has not been published yet. According to him, the final report, which includes the finalization of the counting process and the examination of complaints, makes a real evaluation of the elections.
He said that a statement and a preliminary report have been published so far, but no evaluation. Berisha said he could not discipline the opposition which passed from the birth certificates issue to the tax of vote. The most important thing according to him is that the citizens voted with the most modern technical infrastructure.

Rama claims DP has a plan to block the counting process

The Socialist Party (SP) Chair Edi Rama and the SP Secretary for Electoral Issues Fatmir Xhafaj denounced yesterday the problems with the Democratic Party (DP) commissioners in the ballot counting centres (BCC). They accused DP persons not related to the process for threatening the commissioners and thus, blocking the counting process. Rama stressed that he had information about a plan of blocking the BCCs, blocking the ballot boxes and considering them invalid, in a time when, according to him, the process was being cleared. He praised the Police work adding that however, in certain cases, people are abusing with their duty and commit acts which contradict the standards of the electoral process. He said he was optimistic and that he would announce the victory very soon.

SP, DP clash about commissioners

The Democratic Party (DP) Spokesperson Majlinda Bregu called on the Socialist Party (SP) to ask their commissioners continue the counting and not leave the CEAZs, especially in Durrës and Shkodra. According to Bregu, SP commissioners in these CEAZ have left. She said that the Alliance of Change has apparently won and Rama should respect the declaration he made on Sunday, according to which the most important thing is that standards won in Albania and that Rama has nothing left to do to object this electoral process. The SP Spokesperson Armela Imeraj turned down this declaration and said that the SP commissioners have not left the BCCs, except when all parties agreed to have a rest after a long night. Imeraj said that DP is completely detached from the reality in Babrru, Paskuqan and Gjirokastra where the media recorded shameful acts of DP commissioners during the counting process. She called on the CEC to guarantee the counting process which is being delayed beyond every deadline set by the Electoral Code. She stressed that SP asks all domestic and international observers to stay close to the Albanian people.)

Solis asks CEC to re-count Tirana ballots

The Human Rights Union Party (HRUP) General Secretary Leonard Solis and the first candidate in Tirana list for this party, asked the CEC to re-count the ballots. He accused both DP and SP for manipulating the votes. According to Solis, SP is assimilating the smaller left wing parties and the same is happening in the right wing where DP is assimilating the ballots of the smaller right wing parties. According to him, the counting process is irregular in all CEAZs. He suggested that the ballots of Tirana be all re-counted by CEC. Solis added that he is disappointed by SP.

Gërdec people give no votes to Republican Party

No votes were cast for the Republican Party (RP) in Gërdec, while the democrats had 120 ballots in their favour. The Socialist Party received 76 votes, the Democratic Alliance Party (DAP) 3, the Demo-Christian Party (DCP) 1, Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) 1 and the Party for Law and Justice (PLJ) only three ballots. DP Spokesperson Majlinda Bregu considered this a success and said that it is a strong punishment for the SP which used Gërdec for electoral purposes. According to her, the politics of mocking with death did not work in Gërdec either.

AHC publishes first report on elections

The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) published yesterday a report on the progress of the electoral process. According to this report, the elections in general are considered good, despite some minor problems. According to the report, there have been cases of technical-organizational difficulties with citizens who wanted to be provided with the ID card. The citizens reported suspension of work, delays and power shortages. With regards to the voters list, according to the report, the preliminary and the final lists were been published very late. With regards to the electoral campaign, the report says that the political parties, compared to previous campaigns, have displayed their alternatives and programmes better. However, in certain cases, they used non-ethical language. With regards to the list of candidates, the report says that many mayors, who run for MPs, have not resigned from their positions.

Note: Election results as the ballots are still being counted can be seen on the Central Election Commission webpage www.cec.org.al, as well as on the website of the parallel vote tabulation monitors www.eca.al.