Electoral Commission fails

The parties declared in the evening that reaching consensus in up to the Parliamentary channels until May 24th, a deadline set by the EU for closing the reform.

Damian Gjiknuri and Oerd Bylykbashi declared for the journalists that they are divided about a series of matters, such as the appeal, the electoral administration, etc.

The Commission meeting ended by midnight, but as Gjiknuri and Bylykbashi declared, there will be no new mandate for it.

“It is not only the electronic voting. Today we discussed about the electronic voting and the electronic ID verification. I must say that there is no written opinion by the ODIHR for the electronic voting. As for the identification, we had reclected about some of the objections, and we could not agree for the electoral administration and the Central Election Commission formula, which is a key recommendation for the electoral reform. We were unable to find consensus for some articles at the appealing process. These are the most important chapters, because they have been the core of the electoral reform”, declared the Socialist MP and the Co-Chairman of the electoral reform, Damiani Gjiknuri.

“The parties are divided on either they should implement the ODIHR recommendations or if a partial implementation is needed. Our propositions reflect these recommendations in every detail. Also we were unable to find an agreement regarding the other issues, with the appealing administration, but there are spaces to find consensus through the parliamentary filters, and then the technical drafts for their approval”, declared the Democratic Party electoral reform expert, Oerd Bylykbashi.

“The solutions are sometimes given in the last minute, and I think that the Albanian politics must understand what the priorities are. The majority has all the possibilities to reflect this through an important reform that is especially related with the future of our country in the EU. We have tolerated most of the text. Not because there is no place to discuss it. We even told the Democratic Party to give its proposal for a formula that is related with the CEC composition, and unfortunately we have heard no real proposition. We refuse to give a proposition. However, I hope… and I don’t want to make early accusations – that although the time is critical and the will could have been created, I still think that with a consolidated appeal from the international community for finding a compromise, the Democratic Party has the opportunity to sit and find a common solution”, Gjiknuri declared.

“At this point we have made a job that reflects the ODIHR recommendations maximally. Most of them have been treated, but there are some important elements that demand political consensus. We cannot discuss reaching a consensus by putting conditions. Everything should be based in a consensus that guarantees the implementation of the code with a good political will in the next elections. As consequence, we will explore all possibilities that the Parliament allows for reaching the electoral reform conclusion successfully”, Bylykbashi declared.

“A partial reform that doesn’t address all the problems mentioned by the international institutions or the problems that the electors encounter, cannot be the right solution. We have the possibility to address all remaining problems: the texts are there, the drafts are there, the experts have worked and the Commission has the necessary capacity. The Parliamentary mechanisms can be placed in function through the negotiations within this deadline, so that we can have an electoral code”, the Socialist Gjiknuri declared.

“The political consensus can be very near, when the parties will have the full will to avoid trying to get political points, or positions of force in the negotiations. When the negotiation will be based only on a political will for implementing the OSCE-ODIHR recommendations, I am sure that the compromise will be found very quickly”, Bylykbashi declared.

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