TIRANA, May 24/ATA/ -Following the invitation from the Government of the Republic of Albania to observe the June 30, 2019 local elections and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Albania from 19 to 21 March. The NAM included Ana Rusu, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Alexey Gromov, ODIHR Election Adviser.
The purpose of the mission is to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs.
Meetings were held with officials from state institutions and the election administration, as well as representatives of political parties, media, civil society, and the international community. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.//a.i/
