Raad van Europa levert kritiek op verloop Albanese verkiezingen (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Raad van Europa (RvE), gepubliceerd op maandag 4 juli 2005.

TIRANA, 4 July 2005 - The parliamentary elections in Albania on 3 July complied only partially with international commitments and standards for democratic elections. The elections were competitive and voters were provided with a diversity of information. While the Central Election Commission has so far administered the elections professionally, state and local authorities and major political parties have yet to demonstrate political will that corresponds with their responsibilities for the electoral process.

These are the preliminary conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission for the parliamentary elections in Albania on 3 July. Some 410 observers from 36 countries observed the elections for the four organizations represented in the mission.

"Overcrowding, delays and uncertanity regarding identification of voters gave an impression of disorganisation but so far few allegations of serious irregularies have been substantiated," said Jorgen Grunnet, Head of the Election Observation Mission of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR.

Doris Pack, MP, who headed the delegation from the European Parliament, said: "The election system remains open to abuse. Intensionally inaccurate voter lists have left voters disillusioned."

Senator Jerzy Smoravinski, Head of Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, added: "The delay in launching the electoral reforms to address the shortcomings from previous elections affected negatively the preparation and conduct of these elections. The authorites and political parties should continue without delay the reforms in order to redress the remaining shortcomings noted by the IEOM.

Ambassador Andreas Nothelle, who coordinated the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly Delegation, said: "The Albanian voters and the local voting comissions were obviously dedicated to make use of their rights and have free and fair elections. By that they showed more democratic maturity than some of their political leaders, who should understand that reciprocal allegations aimed at influencing international observers create distrust, detrimental to the development of a democratic society."

Election day was generally peaceful but a few violent incidents, one fatal, cast a shadow over the process. The conduct of the poll showed only limited progress over previous elections. In many cases observers noted incorrect procedures, particularly regarding the use of ink to prevent multiple voting, the secrecy of the vote and the checking of voters' identities. While some voters were turned away from polling stations because their names did not appear on voter lists, this affected relatively few voters. A few polling stations could not open on time since they did not receive voter lists.

The OSCE/ODIHR will remain in Albania to continue the observation until the completion of the election process, vote count and hearing and ruling on complaints.

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