Stonestreet: All-inclusive electoral reform
14/09/2011 10:10
The Washington Agreement Must Be Reactivated! 06/01 19:04
In his last day in Tirana, the head of the OSCE-ODIHR mission, Jonathan
Stonestreet emphasized the necessity of an Electoral Code reform, with
political parties undertaking many steps for performing elections that
are really in the service of the people.
During a short press release for the media, Stonestreet declared that the electoral process in Tirana was unusual, due to the razor sharp vote difference, and also because it was happening in a tense political moment.
“I don’t want to make another evaluation, because everything is clearly stated in the report. The process in Tirana was unusual, because it was a very close result, and it all happened in a tense political climate. There’s nothing to be added to what is mentioned in the report. The electoral reform is serious, with a series of issues that need to be addressed to. Most important is the inclusion of all political parties and institutions, in order to regain the voters’ trust and make elections for the voters, not only for the political parties”, the OSCE official declared.
Stonestreet, different to his homologues, who have led the previous elections in Albania and who have marked the closure of their mission by publishing the report, explained the arrival in Tirana as a new practice of ODIHR.
“My visit in Tirana is based on a new practice of OSCE-ODIHR, which is not only for Albania, but also for other countries. It is for presenting the report by discussing it with the officials. The visit of the ODIHR team was greeted and valued by the Albanian authorities, and this is a positive sign”, Stonestreet declared.
During the meetings with high-rank Albanian officials and political parties, Stonestreet expressed ODIHR’s readiness for offering assistance to fulfill the 52 recommendations that derived for the 2009 elections and those of May 8th.
Asked by Top-Channel for a final answer if the May 8th elections had fulfilled the international standards and why the word “standard” was not even mentioned in the report, Jonathan answered by avoiding the word “standard” and using “engagement”.
“With our reports we refer to the OSCE engagements. In fact, in some parts of the report we have stated that the engagements were not fulfilled. You are right when you say that there is no final conclusion that would make the front page of a newspaper, but the conclusions are in the entire report and I think that those should be carefully read, especially the aspects where there is room for improvement and for taking concrete steps”, Stonestreet declared.
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