After passing the three integration law, the elections are on the top of
the conditions that Albania needs to fulfill before continuing with the
other integration steps.
The Head of the Social-Democratic group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, says that while the elections are an important condition for the integration, the situation created with the incomplete Central Election Commission is not a good sign.
He appeals the remaining Central Election Commission members to not behave like partisans, but to guarantee a right management of the electoral process.
TCH: Mr.Swoboda, the Albanian Parliament voted the two remaining laws and the Parliamentary regulation. Can Albania receive the candidate status without free and fair elections?
Swoboda: “This is one of the conditions which has now been met. But I think that the primary condition of course is the fact that we want finally free, fair and correct elections in Albania. That’s a precondition, because since many years we have been observing elections, but always have been some problems. Let’s hope that there will not be this time and that would be a long step forward for starting the negotiations, at least for the candidate status”.
TCH: Can there be free and fair elections with the current problem at the Central Election Commission?
Swoboda: “It is certainly difficult to make free and fair elections if you don’t have a well functioning Central Election Commission, and the fact that one was more or less pushed out, because of the composition of the government change, is not a good sign for democratic behavior. Nevertheless, I hope that even this, as a one sided Central Election Commission will look to correctness and will guarantee that everything will be done to have free and fair elections. Let’s hope that they are up to the standards not of party politics, but of legality”
TCH: Why is it essential for Albania to hold free and fair elections?
Swoboda: “We have to see progress in Albania and for Albania in Europe. And therefore these elections are so important. And therefore, whoever is in the Central Election Commission must act really fairly, and not as a party politician. That’s their job. Otherwise we will have a stalemate in Albania, we are back to the roots. That’s nice in a game, but that’s reality and we shouldn’t be back to the roots”.
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