Lack of independent media undermined elections, observers say

The lack of a healthy media environment for diverse information on electoral offers for Albanians, the malfunctioning of legal mechanisms that should guarantee the existence of independent media, and the controversial decision of Prime Minister Edi Rama's government to close the social network Tiktok shortly before the start of the election campaign were some of the problems that undermined democratic standards in Sunday's elections and brought the most critical report in a long time from the international factor.

The report notes with concern the presence of funding from unidentified sources in some media outlets, the control of advertising for political reasons, the verbal and often physical attacks by political leaders against journalists, and the lack of access of small parties to the media.

Albanians voted on Sunday, May 11, in parliamentary elections, which the ruling Socialist Party won with a simple majority of votes, while the division of the country into 12 electoral districts gave it the advantage of an almost qualified parliamentary majority, which is expected to cause additional trouble for Albanian democracy due to the possibility of Rama unilaterally changing the rules of the game in the coming years.

The OSCE/ODIHR report, published on Monday, pointed to abuses of state power and resources by the ruling party and voter intimidation by the army of patronage agents as problems that made the elections “not in line with international standards,” but a particularly strong criticism in the report concerns the media, the freedom to impart and receive information, and the quality of information received.

“The independence, diversity and integrity of the news available to voters are eroded by the dependence of most media on non-transparent funding from political or business interests, which are often based on public contracts,” the report says.

“The concentration of media ownership further undermines the pluralism of news sources, contrary to international standards,” OSCE/ODIHR experts note.

The media environment of a country should have numerous media outlets with diverse information, including information from political or social actors who do not belong to the mainstream, which is actually not found in Albania. The media outlets are not few, if you look at the number of television stations, but the information provided in them is not diverse, because it is the same information provided in many media outlets at the same time.

“News reporting is often replaced by materials prepared by government bodies, which undermines editorial integrity. The Media and Information Agency, an agency under the prime minister, centralizes and filters information published by the government and public institutions,” the report says.

“Furthermore, journalists report that their access to government representatives, including the prime minister, is shrinking, with the number of press conferences reduced and journalists occasionally barred from participating in public events, contrary to international standards.”

The Albanian government prohibits journalists from conducting independent filming at public events, such as Rama and the Socialist Party’s electoral rallies, where the prime minister’s bodyguards and staff physically prevent the use of cell phones or other video recording devices. This has turned the media “reporting” of the campaign into a giant theater in which citizens can only see what the prime minister wants, but on various televisions and portals.

“According to most ODIHR interlocutors, campaign footage was provided by political parties. On the television stations monitored by ODIHR, none of these news reports were marked as such, as required by the Electoral Code, and no measures were taken by the Central Election Commission in this regard.”

The report notes with concern reports that some of the interviews with election candidates broadcast in various media outlets were in fact paid, which is against the law.

“The appearance of election contestants in the news and paid coverage is de facto equivalent to political advertising and disadvantages contestants with fewer financial resources,” the report notes.

One of the key issues that seems likely to derail Sunday's election is the government's decision to block access to the social network TikTok just weeks before the election. The government says it took the decision to combat bullying in schools, following the tragic murder of a teenager last December, but many believe the ban is related to the electoral campaign, because TikTok, as a new social media, values ​​content and gives visibility to user-generated materials in exchange for revenue, while older social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, do not give visibility to content produced by, say, parliamentary candidates, as they are mature businesses and require advertising. In short, TikTok provides visibility that Facebook and others do not.

“The decision of the Council of Ministers on March 6 to temporarily block access to TikTok is a broad ban and inconsistent with international standards,” the report states.

"Ultimately, the restrictive media environment and failure to implement legal requirements in good faith prevented voters from receiving complete, independent, and diverse information about the electoral race," the report states./Reporter.al