OVSE constateert ongeregeldheden bij verkiezingen Albanië (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Sunday's (3 June) elections in Albania have only partially complied with the international standards for democratic elections, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - the body in charge of observing the process - announced on Monday (4 July) in its preliminary report.

"While these were overall competitive elections and media generally provided voters with a diversity of electoral information, major political parties have yet to demonstrate political will and responsibility to a measure commensurate with the broad authority granted to them on the electoral process", the OSCE said.

The OSCE notes some positive developments in the election process, such as the high number of different political parties registered to participate, the "transparent" administration of the process and the media coverage of the elections.

But on the other hand, it regrets the "significant number... of allegations of interference with citizens' right to freedom of expression and to engage in political activities", and the status quo as regards women's insufficient participation in public affairs.

On top of that, an election official was shot dead on Sunday (3 July) in Tirana and two other men were killed during post-election celebrations.

However, no reports of general violence were received and the spokesperson of the Albanian interior ministry said that the atmosphere of the elections was "much better than in other years", according to Reuters.

EU reaction

The elections were set to be a crucial test for Albania's EU ambitions, as Brussels had said Tirana had to prove it was able to have democratic elections before being allowed to take any steps closer to membership.

The European Commission took note of the OSCE's observations, saying that the shortcomings reported by the observers "point to areas where significant further work will be required by the Albanian authorities in preparing for future elections".

The EU's executive stopped short of drawing other conclusions however, saying it will wait for the election process to be completed first.

If it then judges that "the country's overall democratic and reform progress" is satisfying, it may recommend concluding a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with Albania later this year.

The SAA is the first step on the road to EU membership, aiming to help countries begin to prepare themselves for the demands of accession to the 25-member bloc.

The commission will release its report on Albania and the rest of the western Balkans in the autumn.

Socialists or Democrats?

Albania is currently one of the poorest countries in southeast Europe with criminality and corruption also forming major obstacles on its EU path.

It was a communist state for 45 years until 1991 and collapsed into anarchy in 1997, following the government's mishandling of financial pyramid schemes which ruined many citizens.

In 2001, the Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister Fatos Nano, received a majority and formed a coalition together with MPs from four other parties.

The votes of Sunday's elections are still being counted to know who of the ruling Socialist Party, and opposition Democratic Party, led by Sali Barisha, will rule Albania for the next four years.

The turnout is said to have been around 56 percent, and the Democratic Party was in the lead by some ten percent on Monday (4 July) evening, with 80 percent of the ballots counted, according to the Financial Times.

Final results are expected later on Tuesday (5 July).

The voting was monitored by 450 international and 3,000 Albanian observers, with the OSCE set to release its final report within six weeks.