OSCE/ODIHR final report on April 25 elections: From bad to worse?
Related Articles
The OSCE / ODIHR released this week its final report on Albania’s April 25 parliamentary elections. Its findings triggered different reactions from all political camps and the international community based in Tirana. Democratic Party, the leading opposition party, claimed the report proved what its leader Lulzim Basha named as “electoral massacre”, while the ruling party, Socialists, hailed OSCE/ODIHR report as the most positive ones as far as meeting international standards for democratic elections is concerned.
In a Facebook post, the British Embassy in Tirana encouraged all parties to fully implement the recommendations and stressed the need to investigate cases of vote-buying or data breaches, whereas the US Embassy in a short statement urged all relevant institutions to review the final report and its recommendations to further improve Albania’s elections.
According to the report, in the 25 April elections, voters had a choice of candidates, who were able to campaign freely, under a legal framework which respects fundamental freedoms. It further maintains that following a breakthrough agreement ending a political stalemate, the key stakeholders had sufficient confidence in the elections to participate. In addition, the report asserts that the reformed Central Election Commission (CEC) dedicated itself to overseeing the electoral process in an organised and transparent manner, and that the election day went smoothly, without major incidents. These positive findings indicate that Albania has made some progress in formally meeting the OSCE commitments and international obligations and standards for democratic elections.
However, what we may miss from this is the fact that post-communist Albania has generally had good laws in paper but failed to implement them properly. April 25 parliamentary elections are not an exemption from this trend. To the contrary, the OSCE/OGIHR report comprehensive findings indicate that Albania has slid back in holding elections in line with democratic standards.
Widespread practices of vote-buying and the leaking of sensitive personal data of 900,000 Albanian citizens before elections were featured for the first time as serious concern in an OSCE/ODIHR final report on Albania’s elections. The report says that the ruling party derived significant advantage from its incumbency, including through its control of local administrations, and from the misuse of administrative resources. This was amplified by positive coverage of state institutions in the media, indicating that there were little room for the opposition to manoeuvre in such constrained environment.
These findings show that the gap between electoral code and its implementation has increased. Passing democratic-like electoral legislation to formally fulfil OSCE’s recommendations has become a norm in Albania. In a century when all leaders declare themselves democrats, shutting down political opponents’ party headquarters, dismissing them from running for public office, filling ballot boxes or attacking physically political rivalries is discrediting.
Therefore, some kind of a democratic façade must be upheld by ensuring formal elections’ legislation is in line with democratic standards, while on the other hand state resources and institutions are misused to grease the ruling party’s electoral machinery. In this regard, Albania has gone from bad to worse.
