TIRANA, May 28/ATA/ The European Union is calling on the Albanian political class to include in the new electoral reform all OSCE/ODIHR recommendations made so far, while expecting the parties to uphold their commitment to conclude this process by 2026.
In an interview for the “Express” broadcast on public Albania Radio-Television (RTSH), the European Union Ambassador to Albania Silvio Gonzato said that this should be a clear commitment by Albania in context of EU membership.
Some of the elements that need to be improved in this reform, Gonzato said, are related to issues such as transparency in campaign financing, regulation of online media and avoiding the misuse of public resources.
“I think that the ODIHR findings this time confirm the same problems that were identified in 2021, so these problems need to be resolved,” the EU Ambassador said.
Gonzato also stressed that reforms should be the result of political dialogue, including the opposition, as EU membership is a national objective that should not be used for party purposes.
Speaking about the electoral process, he praised the professional administration by the CEC and the cooperation with SPAK and the General Prosecutor’s Office, while condemning political pressures on the judiciary.
The ambassador expressed his belief that Albania can end the accession negotiations by 2027, demanding that the reforms include all sectors of society.
According to him, a successful accession process does not depend only on the government, but it is a pan-social process. /j.p/p.s./
