Observers’ Mission Criticizes Albania’s One-Party Elections

Ambassador Audrey Glover, head of the observers mission, during a press conference in Tirana on July 1. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

In a preliminary report presented in Tirana on Monday, the mission said the elections were held "with little regard for the interests of the electorate".

"The opposition decided not to participate, and the government determined to hold the elections without it," the report stated, adding: "Voters did not have a meaningful choice between political options."

Audrey Glover, the head of the mission, added her own question during the press conference: "Let me ask you a question. For what are elections held, for the politicians, or for the voters?"

Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama proclaimed the elections a "clash of historical importance between past and future", but the refusal of the main opposition parties to take part raises inevitable questions about the legitimacy of the results.

Only about 21 per cent of registered voters participated in the elections, in which, facing little or no competition, Socialist Party candidates unsurprisingly won all 61 municipalities in the country.

The Socialists, however, claim that the turnout rate was high enough to confirmation the credibility of the result in the eyes of Albanians.

The Socialist Party now controls both the organs of central and local government, besides being accused of already controlling or strongly influencing other institutions that should be independent.

Ambassador Glover, who has observed several previous elections in Albania, criticized the organization of the elections in an unilateral way by the ruling party.

She also said that the Socialist-controlled Central Electoral Commission had "interpreted the law in a creative way",...