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Little regard for voters’ interests in Albania’s local elections, OSCE/ODIHR observers say

Politiko 3 Korrik 2019, 13:53
Little regard for voters’ interests in Albania’s local elections,

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) presented their preliminary findings and conclusions in regards to the 30 June local government elections in a press conference held in the afternoon. “In the climate of a political standoff and polarisation, voters did not have a meaningful choice between political options. In 31 of the 61 municipalities, mayoral candidates ran unopposed.

The politically unbalanced composition of election administration, opposition parties’ call on voters to boycott the elections and conflicting interpretations of the validity of the president’s decrees canceling the 30 June elections undermined public confidence in the process,” read the preliminary findings. “Voting was positively assessed in 94 percent of the voting centers observed by the ODIHR EOM. Group voting, including family voting, and proxy voting were noted in 12 percent of observations.

Almost two-thirds of the observed voting centers did not allow for independent access for voters with disabilities. The presence of partisan observers, predominantly from SP, was noted throughout all electoral stages, with non-partisan observers also present but in a significantly smaller number. Counting was assessed positively in all but 6 of the 51 ballot counting centers observed, although several procedures were not always followed correctly.”

According to EOM Head, Dame Audrey Glover, the 30 June local elections were held with little regard for the interests of the voters in a climate of the political standoff. “While a number of political parties, coalitions, and groups of voters fielded candidates, the absence of the major opposition parties from the election considerably limited the choice of candidates for voters.

Initial refusal by the same parties to nominate members of election administration, plus the later politicized interpretation of electoral law, left the country’s election management imbalanced and reduced trust in the elections,” the EOM Head said. Ambassador Glover continued: “We saw evidence that voters were pressured by all political sides. This, along with polarized media focusing on the political crisis rather than providing impartial information about candidates, kept some voters from making free and informed choices.” On a positive note, the voting was conducted in a generally peaceful and orderly manner, the EOM found

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