TIRANA, Jan 8 /ATA/ The State Election Commissioner, Ilirjan Celibashi, met on Wednesday with the British Ambassador in Tirana, Nicholas Abbott, to discuss the CEC’s preparations for the May 11, 2025 parliamentary elections in Albania.
The discussion between Celibashi and Abbott focused on preventing electoral crimes, combating vote buying, preventing the misuse of state resources, and ensuring the integrity of candidates.
“After discussing the developments and the political environment during this pre-election period, we dived deep into the topic of voting from abroad and the challenges of organizing this process. We shared our views and efforts on important issues such as the measures taken to prevent vote buying, avoiding the abuse of state resources during the campaign, and increasing the role of other institutions in the fight against electoral crimes,” said Celibashi.
The discussion also touched on the CEC’s progress in implementing the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and the necessity for fully implementing those recommendations that require legislative interventions from Parliament.
The commissioner highlighted that we discussed the innovations of the Financial Reporting Platform and the enhancement of civil society’s role in overseeing electoral financing. We also agreed on the significant importance of the upcoming electoral process in the context of Albania’s full EU membership.”
Ambassador Abbott assured the Commissioner of the United Kingdom’s unwavering support for the Commission and its crucial role in ensuring democratic standards in the upcoming elections.
“As partners, the United Kingdom remains committed to working closely with the Central Election Commission to support Albania’s democratic journey and calls on all institutions to support free and fair elections,” reads the embassy’s statement in a social media post. /j.p/sm/
