Kukan: “Fair elections. EP ovservation is present in every direction”

He declared that everyone at the European Parliament will watch closely the elections, the ballot count and every other aspect related to the freedom and democracy of an electoral process.

Eduard Kukan: My main message to the Albanian citizens would be to be part of these elections and to make the right choice. They should chose the people they trust, the people they expect to work for the country’s interest and for the citizens. A high participation is needed for elections to be credible. Although these are local elections, they are very important for the future of the country. It is important to feel it like this, because this is not a pathetic expression. Everyone at the European Parliament will watch closely how the elections are organized, how the ballot counting process will be conducted and the electoral campaign in general, which is still going on. A lot will depend if the elections are free, democratic and according to the international standards. This would have a huge impact on the future decisions of the European institutions, for the possibility of opening the accession negotiations with Albania. I think that the politicians should carry more responsibilities, personal or political, for both parties. The government must take in consideration that to have a really democratic society, this society requires a strong opposition. This is for the country’s interest. For the interest of the society and for the image of Albania abroad. Being in opposition doesn’t mean failing, or being ain a shameful position. No. The opposition has its own role in every democratic society. I am following the electoral campaign very closely. I have heard complaints, but, in general, I have heard that the elections are being prepared with responsibility. There will be many observers, more than 200. There will also be those of the diplomatic corpus. I think that due to the specific situation in Albania, the elections will be followed carefully by Brussels and also by the institutions in Albania.

TCH: Keeping in mind the story of elections in Albania, do you expect the result to be accepted by whoever becomes the next opposition?

Eduard Kukan: Everybody has almost the same opinion on this situation. What is more important for me, is that the internal political situation should not be put in question after the elections. So that there can be no complaints for the voters, for boycott, because that would seem very ugly. I am telling to my politician friends in Albania that they should be very responsible for this, because the OSCE/ODIHR is the main institution that will value the elections. If the OSCE says that the elections were regular, while some parties decide for boycott, they would find themselves in a very difficult situation. They should think about this now. That’s why I say they should be politically responsible, and I expect the elections to be fair and without a following chaos, as it has happened in the past. This is very important.

TCH: You have dealt often with the elections in Albania, and recently there has been a tendency to now follow the electoral campaign with journalists on terrain, but politicians film whatever they see appropriate and send the video to TV stations. Is this an European practice?

Eduard Kukan: Media has an important role in any democratic society. The European standards for the media freedom are very strong. The media should be allowed to follow the situation and t report objectively. The media should also be responsible, but they should be allowed to cover it with their means.

TCH: As for the five key priorities, if everything goes well with the elections, Albania is waiting for an evaluation this Autumn from the Commission. Do you believe that Albania has implemented the reforms for a positive answer? Will there be consensus from the member countries?

Eduard Kukan: Certainly, there is progress in the areas you mentioned. I would not dare to say there is a full implementation of the key priorities and wait for the decision of the EU Council. We should not increase people’s expectancies and this report will be read by Albanian politicians and citizens. As I said, the European institutions are now focused on the situation in Albania. They are well informed and competent enough to take an objective decision after the elections. As I said, the elections will have a big role and an important influence in the decision.

Prepared by: Arta Tozaj

Top Channel