TIRANA, April 7 /ATA/ Head of the OSCE-ODIHR Observer Mission for the May 14 local elections Audrey Glover held the first press conference today in Tirana to present the objectives and the way the elections will be observed.
Glover said that implementation of the law is very important and expressed the belief that the election process will abide by all the democratic practices that the OSCE wants to see from Albania, where candidates should play on equal terms and voters should choose freely.
“All OSCE member countries have expressed support for the stance to hold elections in accordance with these standards. We will pay special attention to these elements: the work of the electoral administration and the implementation of previous recommendations, the spirit of the campaign, the participation of women in the electoral process and the participation of minorities.
We will carefully look at the way the election campaigns were financed and the resolution of disputes related to the elections. The implementation of the law is as important as the law itself. And for implementation, there is required a will. We are interested to see if the process is in line with the OSCE. Let us all have confidence in the electoral process. For the process to have integrity, voters will be able to make real, well-informed choices between different candidates”, said she.
According to her, there will be 13 legal experts for the elections and 24 long-term observers who will be distributed throughout the country, where they will monitor and be informed about the progress of the May 14 process, and then they will be joined by the EP delegation and representatives of others.
In regard to Prime Minister Edi Rama’s decision to salary increases and pensioners’ bonuses, she stated that this issue is one of the most important areas that must be observed. “We will pay attention and we will observe this field”, emphasized Glover./p.s./
