Countryman: Doubts on the elections for Tirana

During an interview for Voice of America, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Thomas Countryman declared that the United States of America have doubts on the vote counting process for the Municipality of Tirana.

“We have doubts on the way the counting process was performed for the biggest Municipality, that of the Albanian capital, Tirana. We have doubts on the legal base of the decision that was taken for counting a specific category of ballots. We had these doubts when this decision was taken, and we still have them now. We appriciate the fact that the opposition proceeded the appeals through legal channels, as the Albanian Constitution provides. We also value the fact that the Electoral College gave its decisions and the process is about to end”, Countryman declared.

“The duty of the United States is not to express judgments on both given decisions of this prolonged counting process. We feel the obligation to help Albania overcome this, in order to guarantee that the next elections will be clear, credible and above all, based on clear rules that were assigned before the elections. We are ready to do this in cooperation with the European Union. The biggest issue today is if the opposition leaders are ready to do this. From 2009 to 2011, they were not”, he emphasized.

Although 2011 elections were better than those held in 2009, Countryman says that the Albanian people lost an opportunity, and this started with the general elections of 2009.

“Albania didn’t lose this opportunity on May 2011, but during the two years between 2009 and 2011, because the greatest attention was focused on both parties and their leaders, on their battle between each other, and not on what could give Albania a stronger and more credible electoral process. It is time to change this, and we expect both parties to plan new electoral rules, with the help of the European Union and the United States of America. They must plan new rules that serve to the people and to specific parties. The instruments for achieving this are there. There is the Commission of Venice and ODIHR. If both parties are ready to accept an active role of these two institutions, then I see no reason why we should not realize a clearer electoral code”, Countryman added.

As for the US role in this process, Countryman said that there will be help and advises, but not mediators, because the two leading gentlemen, as he called the Albanian opposing leaders, are not able to speak politely with each other, and this is not the role of the international community.

“Albania has a Constitution. In all democratic societies, the Constitutions and the institutions deriving from it guarantee an honest political process. The international community cannot replace the Constitution. We cannot help to create a situation in which mature politicians of rival parties speak to each other with politeness, sitting in the same room and making compromises that might be recommended by the international community. And as I said, this would include the new electoral laws. I deeply respect Mr. Rama and the dignifying way in which he managed the difficult situation. The international community can help, but the evaluation and the resolution must come from inside Albania. These are the opportunities that were lost in the last two years, and this is the way someone, as leader of the government or the opposition, should change the political behavior in the two years to come, in order to fulfill the requests of the people”, Countryman declared.

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