The meeting focused on reviewing the findings of the Election Day report and on the open discussion on drafting of recommendations of the final report of the Observation Mission.

The interlocutors highlighted the importance of involving all relevant institutions and political actors in addressing the recommendations through a comprehensive and well-coordinated Electoral Reform process.

“For the CEC, the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations represent an important basis for further improving the electoral processes, not only in technical and administrative terms, but also in terms of creating clearer and more sustainable legislation,” Celibashi stressed in a post in the social media.

Celibashi thanked and expressed the highest appreciation to Ambassador Zannier for the OSCE/ODIHR mission and reiterated the full professional commitment and constant cooperation, as one of the most important partners in our efforts to improve the integrity and credibility of the electoral process in Albania. /j.p/p.s./

Speaking at a press conference on presentation of the preliminary findings  and conclusions of the international election observation mission in Albania, Zannier also noted the strong political polarization in the country.

Answering to reporters’ question whether the May 11 parliamentary elections met the international standards, Ambassador Zannier explained that the mission doesn’t provide a general assessment regarding the international standards.

“We look into various aspects of the elections; we observe the campaign conduct, the media coverage and legal aspect. You see it is not a white and black situation,” he said.

Zannier underlined that there are areas that need to improve and certain issues that need to be addressed.

“The report is for the authorities to see our comments and commit,” he said.

/j.p/u.sh/

“We are here to observe the elections – and to see whether these elections are in line with international standards. The ODIHR mission has deployed 240 observers. There are also 135 observers from OSCE participating States and the European Parliament,” Zannier said in a statement to the media.

“Election Day is the apparent observation day. Since the end of March, we have been monitoring the election campaign and today is the final point. Tomorrow we will have a press conference at 15:00,” he added.

“I came to this polling station to gather information – because it is one of Albania’s commitments that 10% of voting be electronic,” Zannier said.

“We are in constant collaboration with the CEC. So far, this cooperation has been transparent and fair,” said Zannier. //a.i/

Attending the meeting was Deputy Chairman of the DP Oerd Bylykbashi, Spokesperson of the DP Floriana Garo and General Director of the campaign Ervin Minarolli.

Berisha emphasized during the meeting that the Electoral Code has never been respected.

According to Berisha, “Public and secret vote buying, the electoral state, criminal electoral organizations are illegal instruments of controlling the will of the citizens”.

The interlocutors also discussed during their meeting on inclusion of women in politics through the Primaries that the DP held and the quotas guaranteed by the Electoral Code.

Meanwhile, the ODIHR promises long-term international observers and hopes for a positive report on the elections. /r.e//a.f/p.s./

Observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) held a press conference today on the opening of the election observation mission for the elections.

Ambassador Zannier said that the mission follows an invitation from the local Albanian authorities and will consist of a team of Tirana-based 12 experts.

According to Ambassador Zannier, the mission will also include 26 long-term observers who will be based in Tirana and distributed throughout Albania, while 300 short-term observers will arrive a few days before election day.

On election day, Ambassador Zannier emphasized that there will be a larger mission with delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a delegation from the European Parliament.

“As has been the case with the OSCE/ODIHR mission over the years, the objective of the election observation mission this time is to evaluate how the elections will be conducted, whether they will be more orderly in line with Albania’s OSCE commitments, as well as with international obligations and standards governing democratic elections, and of course whether they are in line with domestic legislation,” he added.

To achieve this objective of the ODIHR mission, Ambassador Zannier emphasized that, “We will closely monitor all aspects of the elections, including developments before and after election day.”

“Some areas of interest will be implementation of the legal framework; the conduct of the campaign, including on social media; the work of the election administration at all levels; the resolution of election-related disputes and media coverage,” he added.

The observers will also monitor the implementation of previous ODIHR recommendations.

Zannier stressed that part of this process will also include systematic meetings with representatives of state authorities, political parties, civil society, and the media.

“Today, it’s the official start of the mission. I had several introductory meetings with the Election Commissioner and several members of the CEC, meetings that were useful and constructive,” he added.

The head of the ODIHR observation mission delegation also announced that, in the context of transparency, the mission will have an interim report on its work two weeks before the elections.

“One day after the elections, we will give the preliminary findings of the mission, which we will present at a press conference. And in the end, there will be carried out the general evaluation process of the elections through the final report, which will also contain the relevant recommendations and which will be published a few months after the elections,” he emphasized. /j.p/r.e/p.s./

During the meeting, Hasani emphasized that, “Albania strongly appreciates the assistance and expertise of OSCE/ODIHR during the election processes and we remain determined to fulfill its recommendations while making use of its expertise”.

Among other things, Hasani has reconfirmed the commitment of our country to hold free, fair and transparent elections, in full compliance with OSCE/ODIHR standards.

Albania remains a steadfast supporter of the ODIHR mandate and the role it plays in protecting fundamental freedoms. /r.e//a.f/p.s./