The initiative of the Albanian authorities to restart the electoral reform in the country, before the parliamentary elections of 2025, is an important and positive development, in a process that has already served as an example of good practice for the region and beyond, said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSBE/ODIHR).
“We welcome the decision of the Albanian authorities to renew their commitment to these vital reforms, so long before the elections,” said OSCE/ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci. “We urge all parties to commit to open and comprehensive consultations in the coming months, ensuring that the reforms that will follow will improve the electoral process for the benefit of all Albanians.”
OSCE/ODIHR requests that the main priorities in the reform are the prevention of the misuse of public resources and the buying and selling of votes, ensuring the secrecy of the vote, protecting the freedom of the media and increasing the effectiveness of the electoral administration.
“It is of crucial importance to set practical and realistically achievable objectives that focus on the implementation of previous OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and on addressing the shortcomings observed during the past elections, in accordance with international standards. Among the main priorities are the prevention of the misuse of public resources and the buying and selling of votes, ensuring the secrecy of the vote, protecting the freedom of the media and increasing the effectiveness of the electoral administration”, the reaction states.
Following recent discussions on this topic, the OSCE/ODIHR has received an invitation from the Albanian parliament to support the national authorities and has offered to provide support and technical expertise to advance the reform process.
OSCE/ODIHR’s long-term election observation methodology includes assessing the implementation of previous recommendations. The most recent ODIHR observation mission to Albania, in 2023, assessed the follow-up of its recommendations following the 2019 local elections and the 2021 parliamentary elections. The reports concluded that 3 recommendations had been fully implemented, 7 more partially. large, 16 in part, while others still remain to be addressed
