TIRANA, March 8, 2023 – International observers of ODIHR, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, have started the mission of monitoring Albania’s local elections of May 14 with a press conference.
The mission will be led by Ambassador Audry Glover, who has been in charge of international observers in several elections held in Albania.
She is leading a group of 13 election experts, political experts, legal experts and media analysts, while 24 long-term observers will be distributed throughout the country starting next week.
ODIHR plans to request from OSCE member states 300 other observers who will have to be engaged in the election day and vote counting process.
The mission’s press statement noted that “observers will closely monitor the voter registration process, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, as well as the resolution of election-related disputes.”
As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.
ODIHR’s report on the parliamentary elections of 2021 pointed out, among other things, “the significant advantages that the governing party enjoyed from being in power, including through the control of local administrations and the waste of administrative resources.”
For the process to have integrity “voters will have to be able to make real, well-informed choices between different candidates. Candidates must play on a level playing field and voters must have the universal right to vote,” Ms. Glover said. “Voters must have the opportunity to vote freely, secretly, safely and the vote is counted correctly.”
