“May 8th, Tirana, a conflict source”

“The Congress considers that the local elections of 8 May were characterised by a transparency engagement but experienced tensions between the two main coalitions: the electoral campaign, which should have been centred on municipal issues and local needs, was mainly centred on national politics and/or on personal allegations between candidates.”, the resolution says.

“The Congress deplores the lack of constructive dialogue between parties and the deterioration of the relations between political actors whereas, in the interest of local communities and of good governance, efforts should be made to accept all constructive decisions and to go beyond partisan positions”, it underlines.

The delegation visited Albania during April and May. Seven teams monitored the Election Day in Tirana, Durres, Shkoder, Himara, Vlora and Elbasan, and also held meetings with representatives from the majority, the opposition, the media and civil society.

In particular, the Congress’ delegation:

– regretted that the electoral campaign, characterized by a strong polarization of the debates, reflected the extremely tense political situation. This negatively affected the electoral process. The tensions detected during the electoral campaign were confirmed during the long and contested counting process;

– noted uncertainties with regard to procedures that brought about postponements in opening and closing of the vote;

– noted that disagreements between the members of the various electoral commissions were frequent and the members had to consult their respective parties before taking position on the contested cases. This very often prevented the fulfillment of the deadlines established;

– regretted that in Tirana the atmosphere was particularly tense due to the strong political polarization;

– believed that the extremely long counting system was, in Tirana, a source of increased conflict. The length of the counting and the consequent failure to announce the final results, put in danger the trust that the citizens should have had in the fairness of the elections. Both partisan interpretations of the electoral code and fairness of the counting were contested.

The congress appeals the Albanian authorities to establish a good political dialogue and build constructive relations. With the approval of the resolution and the recommendations for Albania, the European Council will to set-up and implement a post-election action plan by harmonizing its actions with the OSCE-ODIHR, the Commission of Venice, the Observing Committee, the Committee of Ministers and other Council of Europe organizations.

“Taking into account the above, the Congress asks the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to:

A. transmit the present recommendation and its explanatory memorandum to the Albanian authorities, inviting them to consider the Congress’ suggestions and in particular to review the electoral code if required by the international standards or by the particular difficulties encountered;

B. support the Council of Europe’s post-election action plan for Albania and fully involve the Congress in it;

C. forward the present recommendation and its explanatory memorandum to the relevant bodies of the Council of Europe, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and the Commissioner for Human Rights, for possible future joint actions in favor of Albania.

The Congress also invites the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to take into account this recommendation within its monitoring activities on Albania.

The debate about Albania lasted less then 30 minutes, mainly with speeches from the observatory mission representatives. The members of the Albanian delegations were absent in the debate and also in the voting procedures of the resolution and respective recommendations of the Congress for Albania.

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