TIRANA, June 26 /ATA/ The integrity of elections and the key issues that need to be addressed by the upcoming electoral reform were the highlight of the roundtable entitled “Beyond Monitoring: Towards a Comprehensive Electoral Reform for Election Integrity in Albania,” held on Thursday in Tirana.
In attendance of the meeting were the State Election Commissioner, Ilirjan Celibashi; the British Ambassador to Albania, Nick Abbott; the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime, Altin Dumani; the Ombudsperson, Erinda Ballanca; the Deputy General Director of the State Police, Sokol Bizhga; as well as representatives from political parties and civil society organizations in the country.
In his address, Commissioner Celibashi highlighted the preliminary findings and recommendations issued by OSCE/ODIHR concerning the May 11, 2025 elections, stressing that, despite the progress achieved to date, Albania has a long way to go.
“The findings highlight the imperative for a comprehensive legal and institutional reform to ensure the full integrity of the electoral process. With the reconstitution of Parliament in September, we need to start working on the reform as soon as possible to effectively address all issues identified throughout the electoral process. A critical assessment is required to determine what each political and institutional actor must do differently or more effectively, within the bounds of their respective responsibilities,” he stated.
Celibashi further emphasized that the reform must be inclusive and should not be limited to merely reaching formal consensus.
“The majority, which constitutes a qualified majority in the constitutional sense, should not, I hope, become an impediment to genuine inclusiveness and consensus on the necessary elements of reform,” he added.
Meanwhile, Socialist Party MP Damian Gjiknuri underscored the majority’s willingness to facilitate the establishment of a Special Commission, including all political actors, upon the commencement of the new Parliament emerged from
