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DITARI POLITIK

BIRN: European Union concerned about violation of electoral standards in Albania

Politiko 2025-05-13 20:21:37

BIRN: European Union concerned about violation of electoral standards in Albania

Two senior European Union officials expressed concern over the Socialist Party’s violation of electoral standards in Albania, echoing criticism a day earlier from the OSCE Office for Democratic Elections, ODIHR. The officials called for broad-based dialogue and warned that they were closely monitoring the situation.

"The voting took place in a highly polarized environment, in which participants did not have a level playing field," the statement said, referring to the preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

"Due to the widespread use of administrative resources and institutional leverage, it can be said that the majority had the advantage of being in power. Numerous allusions have been made to pressure on voters, in particular, public sector employees," the statement continues, calling for investigations as the only solution to the problem.

"The European Union will closely follow electoral developments until the certification of the results. All political forces must ensure the continued functioning of the country's institutions," the statement continued.

Vice-President Kallas and Commissioner Kos also call for constructive and inclusive dialogue between political parties and all sectors of society, including local organizations and communities.

The Albanian government or the Socialist Party have not publicly commented on the concerns raised by the opposition, domestic observers, and international observers about the violation of electoral standards.

On Monday, international observers declared that the socialists' practices, such as the use of state resources, voter intimidation through a patronage system, or control over the media, "are not in line with international standards."

International criticism of the May 11 elections is the most serious since 2001, when massive abuses by the socialists at the time led observers to not recognize the elections as fair. A dialogue process was imposed on the government of the time, a process that ended with the election of a consensual president in 2003 and electoral reforms that led to a relatively peaceful transition of power in 2005./ Reporter.al 

 

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