The mission of international election observers on Sunday emphasized the abuses by the ruling party with state resources as well as the lack of independent media as the main concerns, while the head of the European Parliament delegation, Michael Gahler, said that “Albania cannot enter the EU in its current state.”
By Gjergj Erebara, BIRN
The mission of the OSCE/ODIHR international observers declared on Monday in their preliminary findings that the election campaign in Albania was “unequal” due to the “massive misuse of state resources and institutional power by the ruling party,” as well as the lack of independent media, which failed to ensure that voters were well-informed about their choice.
“While the elections were well managed, long-term witnesses testified to mass intimidation and abuse of state resources during the electoral campaign,” declared Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, the head of the mission.
The report marks a significant shift in the findings of previous election observation missions, where observers typically only pointed out that “issues were reported,” whereas in this case, they emphasize that they themselves “witnessed” cases of voter intimidation and abuse of state resources.
“The elections were marked by massive abuse of public resources and institutional powers by the ruling party, while numerous reports on pressure on public sector employees and other voters, as well as cases of voter intimidation, were concerning,” the statement said.
Speaking outside the brief statement, Farah Karimi, the coordinator of the short-term observers, emphasized concerns about the media, and similarly, Ambassador Zannier highlighted that their monitoring of the Albanian media revealed the widespread use of ready-made materials, as well as the fact that the information provided by the Audiovisual Media Authority “was not usable” and that this raises questions about the “independence of the AMA.”
The report emphasized that cases of abuse of state resources “were noted” and that this is “inconsistent with international standards.”
“Contestants were generally free to conduct their campaign, but the playing field was unequal,” the report says. “The ruling party benefited from the widespread use of administrative resources and institutional mechanisms, including the cancellation of fines just before the election day, while senior government officials were heavily involved in a number of official activities that often overlapped with campaign messages,” the report further states.
“Allegations of pressure on public sector employees, cases of intimidation of opposition supporters, and abuse of patronage networks were noted, which is inconsistent with international standards,” it further states.
The Albanians voted in elections on Sunday, elections that the ruling party won with a majority of votes and even a larger majority of mandates.
This is the largest majority ever created in Albania since 2001, when elections were also held by the Socialist Party, which international observers condemned as unequal.
Observers were especially critical towards the media.
“The media environment was highly obstructive, with independence, diversity, and integrity of news content undermined by non-transparent funding, concentration of ownership, interference in editorial autonomy, and political influence,” the report states. The counting process has not yet been completed, but by the time of this article’s publication, the Socialist Party appears to have secured around 53% of the votes and about 60% of the parliament.
