45th SESSION
Report
CPL(2023)45-04
25 October 2023
Local Elections in Albania (14 May 2023)
Monitoring Committee
Rapporteur:[1] Stewart DICKSON, United Kingdom (R, ILDG)
Summary
Following the invitation by the authorities of Albania, the Congress deployed an election observation mission to assess the local elections held on 14 May 2023 in the 61 municipalities of Albania. On the Election Day, 10 teams, involving 20 Congress observers, visited some 110 polling stations to observe the election procedure, from opening to closing.
Overall, the Congress delegation found the 2023 local elections were held in a calm environment and in a transparent manner, despite the long-standing distrust between major parties which all fully participated in the elections. It constituted a welcome change from the 2019 elections, which were boycotted by the opposition. The delegation welcomed the 2020 amendments brought to the Electoral Code which addressed some previous Congress recommendations and contributed to a more professional and transparent election administration. The election campaign was polarised and highly personalised, revolving mainly around political leaders at national level, overshadowing matters of local interest. The Election Day was generally peaceful and well-administered, to the exception of some technical and practical issues.
The Congress delegation noted several areas where there is room for improvement and efforts could be strengthened notably to address the politicisation of lower-level election administration, the insufficient accessibility of voting centres, some technical and procedural inconsistencies, as well as irregularities noted prior to the Election Day and the misuse of public resources.
1. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities refers to:
a. Article 1, paragraph 2 of the Committee of Ministers’ Statutory Resolution CM/Res (2020)1 on the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe;
b. Chapter XIX of the Rules and Procedures on the practical organisation of election observation missions;
c. the principles laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122) ratified by Albania on 4 April 2000;
d. previous Congress Recommendation 377 (2015) on the local elections in Albania (21 June 2015) and its explanatory memorandum and Congress Information report on partial local elections in Albania (6 March 2022);
e. the invitation by the authorities of Albania, dated 9 January 2023, to observe local elections held in the country on 14 May 2023.
2. The Congress reiterates the fact that genuinely democratic local and regional elections are part of a process to establish and maintain democratic governance and that observation of grassroots elections is a key element in the Congress’ role as guardian of democracy at local and regional level.
3. The Congress acknowledges that, overall, the legal framework is conducive to holding democratic elections.
4. The Congress notes with satisfaction that:
a. the amendments to the Electoral Code in 2020 addressed some previous Congress recommendations and strengthened the overall electoral legal framework, in particular on the abuse of administrative resources and campaign finance;
b. the Central Election Commission (CEC), as reorganised by the 2020 amendments, worked in a transparent and efficient manner at the helm of a generally well-managed election administration;
c. a wide range of political subjects, including those which had boycotted the 2019 elections, fully participated in these elections, were able to campaign freely and presented voters with multiple alternatives, which is reflected in a more diverse political landscape in newly elected local councils;
d. overall the Election Day was calm, peaceful and well-administered and counting, while lengthy, was assessed mostly positively;
e. the electronic voting system piloted in 401 polling stations on Election Day was overall rated positively with no major technical issues observed;
f. the requirement of a 50% quota of female candidates on lists was respected and as a result, women are well represented in local councils.
5. At the same time, the Congress expresses its concern on the following issues:
a. the overall politicisation of the lower-level election administration negatively impacted its stability and professionalism and was reflected in the delays in appointment and regular recalling of appointees by political subjects, sometimes resulting in insufficient training;
b. the still burdensome requirements for independent candidates to participate in local elections, including on support signatures, airtime in the media and public funding, contributing to an uneven playing field;
c. the campaign was litigious, marked by a lack of genuine political debates and programmes and revolved predominately around the confrontation between the leaders of main parties at the national level, with very little focus on local issues to the detriment of local democracy;
d. the overall worrying situation of the media characterised by polarisation and high concentration of ownership which contributed to self-censorship and shrinking editorial autonomy; also, the imbalance in media coverage due to the use of content pre-produced by political parties and rules for airtime significantly favouring parties represented in parliament;
e. the blurred distinction between official and campaigning activities, including at national level, and the numerous reports of misuse of public resources and of pressure on public-sector employees unduly benefitted the incumbents;
f. the late disbursement of campaign funds, the lack of a dedicated interim campaign finance report, and the relatively limited sanctions in case of violations were not conducive to a level playing field between contestants and limited transparency and accountability;
g. the Election Day was marked by some notable incidents and procedural issues including inter alia technical malfunctions of voter identification devices, lack of accessibility for voters with impaired mobility, gatherings outside voting centres, family and group voting, abuse of assisted voting and external interference in electoral processes;
h. the late decision by the Assembly and delayed procurement of e-voting devices did not allow sufficient time for independent scrutiny and voter education in the three pilot municipalities;
i. the registration of 1.5 million citizens de facto living abroad to vote in local elections despite the lack of a genuine link with the municipality, increasing the risk of fraud and manipulation;
j. the number of women elected mayors remained low at 13% and expected progress on the participation of women in decision-making at local level is stagnant.
6. In light of the above, the Congress invites the Albanian authorities to:
a. revise the modalities of appointment and dismissal and reinforce training of members of electoral bodies at lower levels, in order to achieve de-politicisation to ensure professionalism of the whole electoral administration;
b. overhaul the provisions related to independent candidates in local elections, including by introducing a maximum threshold for collection of signatures and revising rules for fairer distribution of airtime and public funding;
c. review existing electoral and media legislation, in particular regarding the distribution of pre-produced content (Article 84.2.d of the Electoral Code), the use of official social media accounts and distribution of airtime among electoral subjects;
d. strengthen oversight and control mechanisms with regard to political party and campaign financing including by introducing a requirement for political parties to submit an interim report on campaign finances ahead of the Election Day;
e. implement existing legislation and regulations related to the misuse of public resources and clarify the applicability of the Electoral Code to local elections;
f. strengthen the integrity of the voting process by reinforcing reliability and independent oversight of the use of electronic systems and consider the introduction of more dissuasive sanctions in case of electoral violations; ensure accessibility of polling stations for voters with impaired mobility;
g. revise the legal provisions on residence requirements for voter registration at local level;
h. introduce incentive measures to strengthen the participation of women in mayoral races and to contribute to a balanced representation in decision-making positions at local level.
7. The Congress calls on the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to take account of this recommendation regarding the 2023 local elections in Albania and the accompanying explanatory memorandum in their activities relating to this member State.
1. INTRODUCTION
1. Following an invitation by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, received on 9 January 2023, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities deployed an election observation mission to observe the local elections held on 14 May 2023 in all 61 municipalities of Albania. The delegation was led by Mr Stewart DICKSON (United Kingdom, ILDG, R) and comprised 15 members from 16 countries.
2. Election observation is allowed in Albania, as the Electoral Code grants access to all stages of the process to domestic and international organisations (Article 6.2 of the Electoral Code).[4] In addition to the Congress, OSCE/ODIHR deployed 24 long-term and 300 short-term and the European Parliament seven observers on Election Day.
3. The Congress mission was carried out from 11 to 15 May 2023. Prior to the Election Day, the Congress delegation met various interlocutors such as the Commissioner of the Central Election Commission, the General Prosecutor of Albania, members of the delegation of Albania to the Congress, representatives of political parties running in the elections, as well as of NGOs and the media. In addition, the delegation held briefings with the delegations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament as well as with the representatives of the diplomatic corps in Albania. A joint press conference was organised the day following Election Day, to present the preliminary findings of the international election observation mission (hereafter IEOM) comprising the Congress, OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament.
4. On the Election Day, 10 Congress teams were deployed to different regions of Albania to follow the electoral procedures in over 110 polling stations, including closing as well as counting in one polling station where electronic voting was deployed. The Congress delegation composition, the mission programme and deployment plan are appended to the present explanatory memorandum.
5. The following report focuses specifically on issues arising out of exchanges during meetings held with Congress interlocutors in the context of the local elections held on 14 May 2023 inAlbania and on observations made on the Election Day. The Congress wishes to thank all of those who met the delegation for their open and constructive dialogue.
2. POLITICAL CONTEXT
6. Albania is a parliamentary republic with a unicameral assembly, consisting of 140 members elected for a four-year term through a proportional open-list system. The executive power is vested in the government, also called the cabinet. The office of Prime Minister has been held by the former Mayor of Tirana and head of the Socialist Party (SP), Mr Edi RAMA, since 2013. He won his third consecutive term in the parliamentary elections held in April 2021 in which the governing coalition formed by the SP and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) won 75 seats in the Assembly. The Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces is the President. He or she is elected by the Assembly for a renewable five-year term. Mr Bajram BEGAJ, an independent, whose candidacy was put forward by the SP, has been President of Albania since 24 July 2022.
7. The political climate in Albania has been highly polarised since the end of the Communist rule in 1992. Ever since, Albanian politics have been characterised by an alternance of parliamentary and electoral boycotts as well as a strong personalisation of politics, with the same political elites alternating in power or in the opposition for over 30 years. This trend was also reflected in the last regular local elections, which took place in 2019 and were marked by a boycott of opposition parties.[5]
8. This refusal to take part in the 2019 local elections resulted in an absolute win by the SP. It gained mayors in all 61 municipalities except one where a candidate of the Greek Ethnic Minority for the Future Party (MEGA) was elected. Out of 1 619 seats of councillors, the Socialist-led Alliance (consisting of the SP and 21 smaller parties) won 1 555, the “Hope for Change” Coalition (coalition of seven small parties) 12, parties running alone 50 and independent candidates 2 seats.[6] According to the final result, a total of 811 727 voters, or 22.96%, participated in the 2019 local elections. Due to a high uncertainty with regard to the date, the Congress had to cancel its mission to observe these elections.
9. The opposition is constituted of parties of different sizes, represented by 59 members in the national Assembly through the “Alliance for Change”.[7] Following the 2019 boycott, the parties in the Alliance have no mayors and no local councillors. The Alliance is led by the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Albania (DP). One of its founders and historical leader is Mr Sali BERISHA, President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. However, a rift within the original DP in 2021 resulted in the exclusion of BERISHA[8] and in the creation of a second faction under his leadership claiming to be the official DP. A court case on 3 March 2023 determined that the current DP faction, led by Mr Enkelejd ALIBEAJ is the officially recognised DP. This ruling confirmed a previous court decision as well as a decision by the Central Election Commission (CEC). For the 2023 elections, the BERISHA faction joined forces in the Coalition “Together We Win” with the Freedom Party, parliamentary party chaired by former President of Albania, Mr Ilir META (4 MPs).[9]
10. Partial mayoral elections were held on 6 March 2022, so as to elect mayors in six municipalities that were at that time headed by acting mayors. Despite these being by-elections in six municipalities only, they comprised almost 20% of the electorate and were perceived as an important test in view of the 2023 regular local elections. The SP won five mayors and the Coalition of META and BERISHA, one mayor. The Congress organised a remote mission to assess these elections.
11. In a broader international context, Albania was granted official EU candidate status in June 2014. A High-Level Dialogue process was launched, with the aim to monitor and intensify Albania’s work on the necessary reforms in key areas such as the judicial system. A first Inter-Governmental Conference on accession negotiations was held on 19 July 2022. The 2023 local elections were the first electoral process after the opening of the negotiations and presented an important test for the rule of law and the ability of a number of institutional actors, including political parties, to create and implement standards ensuring free and fair elections.
3. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE
12. Article 13 of the Constitution of Albania[10] states that “[l]ocal government in the Republic of Albania is founded upon the basic principle of decentralisation of power and is exercised according to the principle of local autonomy”. In 2015, Law 115/2014 on the administrative division of Albania and Law 139/2015 on local self-government[11] simplified the administrative division of Albania and drastically diminished the number of municipalities. Today, there are two levels of sub-national government including 61 municipalities with directly elected decision-making bodies and 12 regions (Qarks) with indirectly elected decision-making bodies at the regional level.[12] With the 2015 reforms, specific measures were taken to protect ethnic minorities in the new units, leading to the creation of three municipalities based on this criterion. The overall aim of the reforms, which were widely approved, was to give democratically elected local authorities a more substantial role in the country’s public administrative system.
13. The 2015 reforms did not change the organisation of local government, which consists of one executive body, the mayor, and a local deliberative and decision-making body, the local council. Mayors are directly elected for a four-year term under a first-past-the-post system. While the mayor holds executive power, he or she depends significantly on the local council in adopting important decisions. The local council is directly elected for a four-year mandate under a proportional system. Local councils are led by a chairperson and deputy who are elected among council members with a two-third majority. The number of councillors is determined by population size, ranging from 15 members (up to 20 000 inhabitants) to 61 members (over 400 000 inhabitants – Article 46 of Law 139/2015). The tasks of local councils include public facilities and services, local roads, cemeteries, transportation, waste disposal, social services, environmental protection and local economic development.
14. At the regional level, the highest decision-making body of the 12 regions is the regional council which is not directly elected but consists of a specific number of mayors and local councillors depending on the size of the municipalities represented in the regional council.
15. The City of Tirana, as the capital of Albania, does not hold a special status under the law.[13] Tirana is divided into 27 administrative units. Executive authority over the city is vested with the mayor, and legislative authority with the local council of Tirana, which, since 2018, is composed of 61 members.[14] The position of the Mayor of Tirana is often considered a steppingstone to national politics, as the Tirana region accounts for more than a third of the population of Albania. Although many young Albanians have emigrated to other countries, there is also a strong trend of internal migration from rural areas to the capital. This situation further increases the pressure on the City of Tirana to develop its infrastructures and services.
16. In Albania, the level of trust in political institutions, both at the national as well as at the local level is generally low. In a 2020 UNDP survey, the majority of Albanians surveyed perceived the central government (64.3%) and municipality (62.2%) as not transparent and only 37% of respondents perceived local government as accountable.[15] In another recent survey by the International Republican Institute (IRI) from April 2023, respondents also expressed their concerns with local governance in Albania and 53% of participants stated that they believe their municipal leaders are doing little or nothing to address the needs of the people.[16] Some Congress interlocutors regretted that local mandates are sometimes considered entry points to access public resources and set up clientelist networks.
17. The Congress delegation refers to Congress Recommendation 468 (2021) on the Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Albania and its explanatory memorandum, for a more in-depth analysis of local self-government in this country.[17]
4. DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK
4.1. Domestic legal framework
18. Local elections in Albania are regulated by the Constitution, which inter alia provides for fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, media freedom and the right to information as well as the Electoral Code.[18] The Electoral Code, originally adopted in 2008, was last amended in 2020, addressing certain recommendations from the Congress, the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR. These amendments put an end to the boycott of 2019. The adoption process engaged both authorities and political parties in a constructive and positive manner on many components of the reform and the amendments were thus widely supported.[19] The 2023 local elections presented the first local elections fully conducted under the revised Electoral Code.
19. The most significant amendments introduced in 2020 concerned the structure of the CEC, additional regulatory safeguards against the misuse of public resources and guarantees for gender representation. Further amendments also related to public and private campaign financing, oversight of the campaign coverage in the media and election dispute resolution. In addition, the reform provided for electronic voter identification on Election Day and the piloting of new voting and counting technologies. Nevertheless, despite these welcomed changes, many Congress, Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommendations remained unaddressed, including the de-politicisation of lower-level election commissions, suffrage rights of persons with intellectual psychosocial disabilities, criminal liability for defamation, use of party materials in the media and equal rights of party and citizen observers. The amendments of 2020 also did not set a minimum threshold for seat distribution of local councils.[20] In 2021, this reference and certain other provisions were declared unconstitutional and annulled totally or partially by the Constitutional Court.[21]
20. Article 166 of the Electoral Code establishes that the election of the mayor of a municipality is a first-past-the-post election and that local councils are elected via proportional elections with no preferential vote.[22] Mandates are distributed according to the D’Hondt method (except in coalitions, where the Sainte Laguë method is followed; Articles 162 and 163). The Electoral Code also requires that every second candidate on the list is from the under-represented gender (Article 67.6). While this provision contributed to an increased number of female councillors, there is no regulation for mayoral elections. Accordingly, only eight of the 61 mayors and 681 of the 1 619 municipal councillors elected in the 2023 elections were women (see section 11 of this report).
21. The Congress delegation welcomed the 2020 amendments to the Electoral Code, which addressed some previous Congress recommendations, but regretted that some ambiguities in its implementation and a sometimes narrow interpretation of the Electoral Code in some decisions of the CEC persisted during the campaign.[23] The Congress delegation recommends clarifying the applicability of the Electoral Code to local elections and to fully implement existing legislation and regulations related to, in particular, the misuse of public resources.
4.2. International legal framework
22. The rights of citizens to vote – and to stand in elections – at periodic, genuine democratic elections are internationally recognised human rights, as stated in Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that: “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives […]. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”.[24]
23. Article 25 of the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also provides for the right to vote and stand in elections: “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in Article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors”.[25]
24. At European level, the right of all citizens to free elections is guaranteed by Article 3 of the Additional Protocol[26] to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): “The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature”.
25. With respect to local and regional elections, Article 3.2 of the European Charter of Local Self‑Government[27] sets out that local self-government shall be: “exercised by councils or assemblies composed of members freely elected by secret ballot on the basis of direct, equal, universal suffrage, and which may possess executive organs responsible to them”. The citizens’ rights to exercise their democratic choice is the foundation of political participation at local and regional level. This principle is also enshrined in the preamble to the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self‑government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority, which has not yet been ratified by Albania.[28]
26. In addition to the above-mentioned international treaties, soft law instruments also guide Congress observation missions including Congress Resolutions 306 (2010) on the Observation of Local and Regional Elections[29] and 274 (2008) on the Congress Policy in observing local and regional elections[30] as well as the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, which specifies guidelines on the five principles underlying Europe’s electoral heritage, namely “universal, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage”.[31]
27. Specifically on election observation, the Congress also refers to Article 8 of 1990 the Copenhagen document which provides that: “The participating States consider that the presence of observers, both foreign and domestic, can enhance the electoral process for States in which elections are taking place. They therefore invite observers from any other CSCE participating States and any appropriate private institutions and organizations who may wish to do so to observe the course of their national election proceedings, to the extent permitted by law. They will also endeavour to facilitate similar access for election proceedings held below the national level”.[32]
28. Genuine elections to establish democratic governance cannot be achieved without rule of law and unless a wide range of other human rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed without discrimination. Consequently, the conclusions of observation reports are also informed by issue-specific resolutions, recommendations, and opinions adopted by the Congress and the Venice Commission which each address different aspects of the electoral process. The Congress specifically addressed the following subjects through the adoption of transversal reports on: electoral lists and voters residing abroad, criteria for standing in elections, the use of administrative resources, local voting rights, elections during crisis situations, and the situation of independent and opposition candidates.[33] The Congress also incorporates the thematic work of the Venice Commission into its reports, notably their standards concerning inter alia the use of technology, campaigns, dispute resolution, gender representation, persons with disabilities, national minorities, electoral systems, and the media.[34]
4.3. Previous Congress election observation recommendations and reports
29. The Congress has a long history of election observation in Albania, having observed local elections over ten times in the country, most recently in a remote format for the by-elections in 2022 and onsite for the regular local elections in 2015. The report of 2015[35] presents the most recent comprehensive election observation report adopted by the Congress, as the mission to observe the last regular local elections in 2019 had to be cancelled due to uncertainty regarding the date of the elections. From 4 to 6 February 2020, a Congress delegation carried out a High-Level visit to Albania to take stock of the situation of grassroots democracy in the country as well as the developments since the local elections in 2019.[36]
30. In its 2015 election observation report, the Congress highlighted issues with regard to voter lists and the fact that they included some one million voters living de facto abroad, raising concerns about increased risks of electoral fraud and manipulation. The Congress noted that local issues should be decided by the electorate residing in a specific municipality. Furthermore, the Congress raised concerns regarding the appointment and dismissal of members of electoral bodies, recommending to revise their modalities to ensure de-politicisation and increased professionalism. Other issues included the burdensome requirements for independents and parties running outside of coalitions, the lengthy complaints and appeals procedures as well as the lack of regulation with regard to the presence and role of partisan observers within and in the vicinity of polling stations.
31. In the Congress information report on the remote observation of the 2022 by-elections in six municipalities of Albania headed by acting mayors, the delegation highlighted certain areas of concern including the need to increase efforts in promoting the participation of women candidates in elections for mayors and called on state authorities to revise legislation regarding defamation to prevent self-censorship in the media.[37]
5. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
32. The election administration of Albania is three-tiered, comprising the Central Election Commission, Commissions of the Electoral Administration Zones (CEAZs) and Voting Centre Commissions (VCCs).[38]Electoral Administration Zones (EAZs) correspond to the administrative division unless a municipality has more than 80 000 voters, in which case additional EAZs are formed. Counting takes place in Ballot Counting Centres (BCCs) in EAZs. For the 2023 elections, 92 CEAZs and BCCs as well as 5 212 VCCs were established.
33. In line with the Electoral Code, election administration bodies at all levels must provide a balance between the main political parties as well as members of each gender. In this regard, a 30% gender quota is imposed on all levels of electoral administration (Article 4.3 of the Electoral Code).
5.1 Central Election Commission (CEC)
34. The CEC is responsible for the organisation and management of elections. It steers and supervises the activity of the election administration, monitors the activity of electoral subjects, state bodies and institutions as well as the media, and administratively settles requests or complaints related to the electoral process.
35. Before 2020, the CEC comprised seven party-affiliated members, who represented the distribution of seats in the Assembly, perceived as a politicised institution.[39]The 2020 amendments increased transparency and changed the composition of the CEC by introducing a new structure, with the current composition determined in October 2020. The CEC is now a permanent body consisting of three distinct branches: the State Election Commissioner (the Commissioner) and the Deputy-Commissioner, the Regulatory Commission (the Regulator; five members) and the Complaints and Sanctions Commission (CSC; five members). The Commissioner serves a seven-year mandate, Regulator members serve five year terms and CSC members are appointed for nine years. All the members of the CEC are appointed by the Assembly and currently, only three of them are women. The position of the Commissioner is currently held by Mr Ilirjan CELIBASHI.
36. CEC sessions are public and live-streamed, contributing to transparency as decisions and minutes are available on the website of the CEC.[40] However, while the 2020 amendments contributed to the CEC’s professionalism, some Congress interlocutors stated that some decisions taken by the CEC and in particular the CSC could still be perceived as biased, putting in question its independence and management capacities. Several appeals with regard to CEC decisions were filed with the Electoral College of the Tirana Administrative Appeals Court. This situation was also owed to the fact that legal ambiguity regarding certain articles of the Electoral Code forced the CEC to adopt some regulations and decisions under a high level of political pressure and accusations of bias originating from both the ruling coalition and opposition. This situation led to a litigious pre-election period which at times impeded and delayed the functioning of the election administration.
5.2. Commissions of Electoral Administration Zones (CEAZs)
37. The CEAZs are appointed and established by the CEC and are responsible for organising and conducting the elections in the respective EAZs. This includes candidate registration in local races, appointing the members of the VCCs and the counting teams, distributing election materials to the VCCs, and tabulating election results at the local level.
38. The 92 CEAZs comprised seven part-time members and a non-voting secretary.[41] Half of the commission members are to be proposed by the parliamentary majority and half by the parliamentary opposition, which is now constituted of more than one party. The CEC announced that for each CEAZ, two members were to be nominated by the SP, two by the officially recognised DP, one by the PSD and one by the Freedom Party. The seventh member was drawn by lot and distributed accordingly, between the SP and DP.[42] Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons are selected by the CEC upon proposal of the CEAZ. With many parties failing to appoint members or recalling them, the formation of lower-level commissions was critical, with some commissions having to be formed with an insufficient number of members. Furthermore, the legal dispute around the DP led to serious delays in the nomination of DP members to CEAZs.[43]
39. Despite long-standing Congress and ODIHR recommendations, in addition to the appointment of CEAZ members, parties are also entitled to recall their nominees from CEAZs at any time at their own discretion, even on Election Day. Some 38% of nominees were replaced by their parties until 11 May.[44] As was already the case in previous elections, this situation led to a politicisation of the CEAZs and a lack of thorough training of the last-minute appointees, concerns which were also raised by several Congress interlocutors.
5.3. Voting Centre Commissions (VCCs)
40. A VCC is established for no less than 300 and no more than 1 000 voters (Article 62). For the 2023 elections, a total of 5 212 VCCs were established. VCCs are responsible for the overall organisation and conduct of elections in the voting centre and a secretary is responsible for the overall administration of the polling station, the protocols, archives and materials. Special VCCs can be established in prisons, hospitals and pre-trial detention centres for minimum 15 voters who have residence in the same municipality where the Special Voting Centre is established, upon proposal from the relevant CEAZ. After closing, VCCs are responsible for packing and transporting ballots and other election materials to the relevant BCCs. Counting is administered at the BCCs by Counting Teams consisting of four members appointed by political parties.[45]
41. The VCCs are composed of seven members, appointed using a similar formula to CEAZs. Chairpersons are appointed based on the affiliation of the seventh member, decided by drawing lots. VCC members can be dismissed if absent or not following the trainings and tests organised by the CEC, but also if they have professional or personal connections with a candidate running in the constituency (Article 39 of the Electoral Code).
42. Overall, the Congress delegation welcomed the efforts of the CEC and its new structure introduced with the 2020 amendments, which contributed to the professionalism and transparency of the work of the election administration. However, the delegation still noted a high politicisation of lower-level election administration bodies. It recommends reinforcing training provided to lower-level commissioners and revising the modalities of their appointment and dismissal, in order to achieve de-politicisation and to ensure professionalism of the whole electoral administration.
6. VOTER REGISTRATION
43. All Albanian citizens aged 18 years or older on Election Day are eligible to vote if they have a registered domicile in the territory of one of the municipalities (Article 44 of the Electoral Code). However, the legal framework does not prevent the inclusion of persons who have moved abroad, estimated to constitute approximately 40% of the population. This is not in line with Congress recommendation 369 (2015) on Electoral lists and voters residing de facto abroad and is also problematic regarding the calculation of voter turnout.[46] Suffrage rights are suspended for citizens serving a prison sentence for committing certain crimes as well as for citizens found incapable by a court decision. Voters over 100 years of age must actively confirm their records for re-inclusion in the registry.[47] Non-Albanian inhabitants are not eligible to vote or to run for office in local elections, irrespective of their length of residency.[48]
44. Albanian voter registration system is passive. Voter lists are compiled based on the data of the electronic National Civil Status Register, maintained by the General Directorate of Civil Status of the Ministry of Interior[49], a process which is supervised by the CEC. Voters are included in the voter list of the voting centre at their place of residence. Within 30 days of the decree to call for elections, the Civil Status Offices publish the list of voters per VCCs for public scrutiny. For the 2023 local elections, 3 650 550 voters were registered, including the approximately 40% Albanians living abroad.[50] Corrections to voter lists by voters could be made with their relevant Civil Status Office before 4 April 2023 and decisions on voter registers could be appealed to the relevant district court between 4 April and 24 hours before the Election Day.[51]
45. Voter lists are made available upon request and free of charge to political parties, coalitions, and registered independent candidates.[52] Following a CEC decision, three auditors were hired in December 2022 to review the accuracy of the registers. Their reports were made public on the CEC website and confirmed the accuracy of the registers.[53]
46. Written notices are to be delivered to voters to inform them of the location of their respective polling station within 60 days of the publication of the list by the mayor or municipal authorities. Congress interlocutors noted that, in a decision perceived as questionable, over 1.3 million voters were re-assigned a VCC in January 2023, after lists of voters had already been finalised. Many voters were informed late or not at all regarding the change in the location of their polling station[54]. The reason for this last-minute reallocation remained unclear and clarification was not provided to the general public by the CEC. On 31 March 2023, the DP alleged that this reorganisation was political in nature.[55] The changes in voting centres led to some confusion among voters, as noted by the Congress delegation on Election Day, who observed voters mistakenly approaching their usual VCC, only to be directed to another.
47. Voters can only vote in person in Albania. There are no provisions for voting abroad, by proxy, by mail or via mobile ballot box in local elections. Voter identification is facilitated by electronic identification devices containing voter lists from all voting centres. A voter’s identity is established electronically by cross-checking the ID cards or passports presented by the voter against the data held in the e-identification device. This electronic voter identification was conducted by specifically recruited technical operators, which worked independently from VCC members. As the CEC experienced certain difficulties in the recruitment of such technical operators, trainings had to be conducted with delays.
48. The Congress delegation regretted the absence of suffrage rights for non-national residents and the exclusion of over 100 year-old voters from voter lists, which is not in line with international standards. Furthermore, the delegation noted with concern the confusing decision of the CEC to re-assign polling stations of 1.3 million voters. The Congress delegation also noted the high number of voters included in voter lists who de facto live abroad. The delegation recommends considering a revision of the legal provisions on residence requirements for voter registration at local level.[56]
7. CANDIDATE REGISTRATION
49. According to Article 109.3 of the Constitution, “only citizens who have a permanent residence in the territory of the respective local entity have the right to be elected to the local councils” or as mayor. Any eligible voter can stand for election, except in case of restrictions due to the Law 138/2015 on decriminalisation which bans citizens found guilty of serious offenses from running in elections.[57] Some public functions are also incompatible with local elected mandates.[58] The current restrictions on the right to stand in elections, in particular with regard to the requirement of a final court decision are not in line with international standards.[59]
50. Candidate registration is conducted by both the CEC and relevant CEAZs and proceeds in three steps. Firstly, political parties or subjects submit a request for registration to the CEC. In a second step, once registered as parties, two or more parties can establish and register as a coalition and declare a “leading” party which will be responsible for all election-related obligations for the coalition. In the last step, candidates for mayors and lists are registered.
51. Candidacies can be submitted by registered political parties and coalitions or by a group of voters. Candidates can only run in one municipality. When presented by parties or coalitions represented in the Assembly or in the relevant local council, candidates are exempted from gathering support signatures. Candidates presented by political parties that do not possess any seat must be supported by no less than 1% of the voters of that unit, but, in any case, by no fewer than 50 and no more than 3 000 voters. CEAZs (or the CEC) verify 5% of the support signatures (Article 68.2 of the Electoral Code). Congress interlocutors highlighted that candidates are often selected by national parties at central level, making bottom-up careers more difficult. They regretted that this trend leads to a situation where politicians have close to no ties to their constituents, thus weakening local democracy.
52. The Electoral Code contains specific provisions for independent candidates in terms of candidate registration (Article 70).[60] Independent candidates must receive the support of 1% of the voters of the electoral zone but no fewer than 50 signatures, unless the candidate is an MP, a member of the local council or the mayor. This overly burdensome registration process for independent candidates was already raised by the Congress in its report in 2015. To illustrate, in Tirana, this requirement meant more than 7000 signatures, versus maximum 3000 for a candidate supported by a party.
53. Pursuant to the Law on decriminalisation, all candidates must submit a self-declaration form on their criminal record inside and outside of Albania.[61] During verification of candidate lists, 10 of 144 mayoral candidates and 28 of 23 763 council candidates had been singled out for investigation by prosecutor’s office for suspicion of crimes. However, some Congress interlocutors pointed out that the CEC could not verify the decriminalisation forms of all candidates before the end of the registration period, which could lead to legal uncertainty if candidates with a criminal past would be elected.
54. In the context of the 2023 elections, registration of candidates was inclusive and met all the legal deadlines. However, the process was marked by numerous appeals on CEC decisions[62], oftentimes owed to the internal split within the DP.[63] The CEC registered a total of 40 parties and coalitions as well as 12 independent electoral subjects who all in all presented 144 mayoral candidates, including 15 women, for the 61 mayoral positions and 23 763 candidates for the 1 603 positions in municipal councils. According to some Congress interlocutors, provisions and practices related to independent candidates have led to circumscribing the electoral process to the benefit of the main parties.
55. The Congress delegation noted the still burdensome requirements for independent candidates to participate in local elections, including on support signatures, airtime in the media and public funding, contributing to an uneven playing field, which is not in line with Congress Recommendation 476 (2022) on the situation of independent candidates and opposition in local and regional elections. The delegation recommended to overhaul the provisions related to independent candidates in local elections, including by introducing a maximum threshold for collection of signatures and revising rules for fairer attribution of airtime and public funding.
8. ELECTION CAMPAIGN
56. The Electoral Code regulates the official campaign period, starting 30 days ahead and lasting until 24 hours before the Election Day (Article 77.1), with a view of creating a level playing field for contestants.[64] It regulates the display of propaganda materials as well as media coverage and stipulates activities that are prohibited, including campaigning in public facilities or by civil servants, as well as the misuse of administrative resources, vote-buying and the organisation of cultural/charity activities to favour a political entity (Articles 78 and following ). In addition, Chapter V of the Criminal Code explicitly prohibits election-related crimes. Fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression are enshrined in the Constitution and were mostly respected during this campaign.
57. A CEC public awareness campaign was designed to encourage voters to check their voter records and polling stations, and to enhance the participation of women, first-time-voters, national minorities, including from the Roma community, and persons with disabilities in the electoral process.
58. As provided by law, the official campaign started on 14 April 2023. However, already the pre-campaign environment was litigious and marked by diverging interpretations of the Electoral Code, in particular regarding the registration of the main opposition party. In addition, while Article 91.4 of the Electoral Code provides for a four-month ban on authorities proposing, approving or issuing decisions providing benefits to citizens, the CEC Commissioner publicly announced that in his reading of the law, this provision only applied to parliamentary elections.[65] The Government made a number of public statements to increase salaries, pensions and benefits, which were perceived by many Congress interlocutors as electoral promises reinforcing the ruling party’s advantage.[66] In addition, ODIHR observers noted “numerous cases where local administration engaged in similar activities, including local infrastructure repairs, distribution of food, or offers for short-term employment”.[67] Many interlocutors expressed concern with regard to the lack of action taken by the CEC to ban these activities, which strengthened the advantage of the incumbent administrations.
59. Overall, the campaign was competitive, moderate in tone and rather low-key, with key political subjects competing in both mayoral and local council races. Bigger parties used billboards and rallies, while small parties favoured face-to-face meetings with voters. Campaign materials were more visible in bigger cities, in particular Tirana and Shkodër. No public or televised debates were organised between contestants. While most candidates made extensive use of social media, only few instances of online hate speech were noted. Very few instances of violence were recorded throughout the campaign or seemed unrelated to the campaign.[68] However, Mr Fredi BELERI, candidate for Mayor of the Greek minority affiliated with the Coalition “Together We Win”, was arrested on 11 May on charges of vote-buying. Congress interlocutors questioned the timing and the potential bias of this arrest.[69]
60. The campaign remained mainly run at national level, by leaders of major parties and government officials. As a result, the campaign was polarised and personalised to the detriment of local issues and programmes[70]. This situation may have hampered the involvement of women and the youth in local politics. The campaign for local council was also largely overshadowed. In addition, other interlocutors also noted the absence of detailed and budgeted programmes and to some extent a lack of clarity among candidates on what their competencies would be if elected.[71] Key campaign topics included infrastructures, environment and corruption.
61. During the campaign, and in line with Article 92/4 of the Electoral Code, the CEC monitored public activities and events organised by electoral subjects in the four months preceding the Election Day. 120 monitors were appointed by the CEC to check the activity of electoral subjects and report violations.[72] Between 7 March and 10 May, the CEC received 1 264 reports. The Commissioner addressed 26 violations of the Electoral Code, mostly regarding party offices or propaganda located within 300 meters of a voting/counting centre or a CEAZ. He requested immediate removal of the propaganda and closure of the offices.[73]
62. In addition, over the same timeframe, central and local institutions had to report to the CEC activities of public nature five days before the event took place to prevent the misuse of state resources (Art.92).[74] The Commissioner could then scrutinise and mark certain events as prohibited. On this matter, the CEC took several decisions to sanction administrative staff or incumbent mayors based on their failure to report this type of events. Congress interlocutors noted with satisfaction that twice as many public institutions reported events on the website compared to the 2021 elections[75] and that the CEC took more than 150 decisions to prohibit events.[76] However, they also noted that sanctions were not dissuasive enough and that more efforts had to be made to render this mechanism more meaningful rather than just administrative.
63. Due to the 2019 boycott by the opposition, nearly all incumbents were representatives of the ruling party (SP), a feature that did not contribute to a level playing field between competitors. For instance, PM RAMA of the SP was quoted several times in the media during the official campaign threatening not to cooperate with or to withhold fundings from municipalities that would elect mayors from the Coalition “Together Win”.[77] Congress interlocutors also confirmed to the delegation his interference and intimidating stance towards municipalities that would vote for the opposition. The Congress delegation strongly deplored the PM’s interference in local elections and regretted that this pressure could constitute intimidation and eventually, a breach of the freedom of opinion of Albanian voters.
64. Furthermore, several concerns were raised by contestants and civil society alike on the use of the app “Activ1st”, which allegedly served to build the profile of the SP on social networks by relying on public employees. It is unclear how widespread the use of this app was, but many Congress interlocutors were concerned by allegations of managers asking their subordinated to download it and the lack of safety regarding personal data. The CEC Commissioner mentioned that the DP BERISHA branch had filed a request regarding the app. The DP had also requested the (SPAK) to open a criminal investigation on 24 March. As of finalisation of this report, the CEC is still evaluating “what this app implies in relation to the law or the behaviour of the owner in relation to the Electoral Code”. The inquiry and decision of the CEC is still pending.[78]
65. Overall, the Congress delegation noted visible improvement during the election campaign in comparison with the 2019 elections as a wide range of political subjects, including those which had boycotted the 2019 elections, participated in these elections and were able to campaign freely and presented voters with alternatives, which is reflected in a more diverse political landscape in newly elected local councils. However, it noted with concern that the campaign was litigious, marked by a lack of genuine political debates and programmes and revolved predominately around the confrontation between the leaders of main parties at the national level, with very little focus on local issues to the detriment of local democracy. It also regretted the blurred distinction between official and campaigning activities, including at national level, and the numerous reports of misuse of public resources and of pressure on public-sector employees unduly benefitted the incumbents. The Congress delegation recommended to fully implement existing legislation and regulations related to the misuse of public resources and to clarify the applicability of the Electoral Code to local elections.
9. CAMPAIGN AND POLITICAL PARTY FINANCE
66. Campaign and party finance is primarily regulated by the Electoral Code and the Law on Political Parties.[79] In November 2020, the latter was amended to repeal all provisions on campaign finance, hence eliminating inconsistencies with the Electoral Code and addressing previous ODIHR recommendations.
67. The CEC has the authority and responsibility to supervise, control and audit the funds received and spent by political entities during and outside the election campaign period. The CEC is responsible for verifying information in campaign and party finance reports and may impose sanctions to contestants for non-compliance with the rules (Article 19 and Part VII of the Electoral Code).
68. Electoral campaigns may be financed from public and private funds and loans. Public funds are allocated yearly to political parties which reached the 1% threshold in the last Assembly elections, proportionally to the number of votes received nationally.[80] In addition, for the 2023 elections, following a decision of the Assembly to allocate an extra ALL 100 million (approx. € 900 000) for the local elections campaign, the CEC distributed campaign funds to 14 political subjects that had managed to pass the 1% threshold in the 2015 or 2019 local elections or the 2017 parliamentary elections.[81] Some Congress interlocutors regretted that this decision was only taken on 22 April, a week after the beginning of the 30-day official campaign period, which may have impacted the campaigning activities of smaller parties. By law, these funds have to be transferred to political contestants five days following the registration (9 April in this case; Article 88.6 of the Electoral Code). Independent candidates are not entitled to receive public funding.
69. Electoral contestants may receive donations (also in kind and services) from citizens or legal entities, as well as take loans or use their own funds. No donation can exceed ALL 1 million (Approx. € 9 000), including the equivalent value for in-kind contributions. All contributions exceeding ALL 50 000 (Approx. € 450) should be made through a designated bank account. Financing by foreign individuals or companies is prohibited as well as donations from individual or companies that have benefitted from public funds/contracts or exercise in the field of the media.
70. Campaign expenses of political subjects and independent candidates are capped to, respectively, three times and 50% of the amount that the largest party received from public funds for campaign purposes (Article 92/2 of the Electoral Code). Due to the late release of the decision regarding public funding on 22 April, electoral contestants entered the official campaign without clearly knowing the maximum amount they could use.
71. Annual reports are to be submitted each year on 30 March by registered political parties, except on election year, when annual reports can be submitted alongside campaign reports (Article 23 of the Law on Political Parties). For the first time, political subjects could submit their reports online through the CEC Electronic Financial Reporting Platform launched in April 2023. The purpose of this Platform was to improve and increase access to information, ensure transparency, and improve the quality of data processing by all users of the platform.[82]
72. Political entities must submit to the CEC a campaign finance report within 60 days from the announcement of election results.[83] No interim financial report is required. After the declaration of final election results, the CEC will appoint accountants to audit campaign funds of each contestant. All reports should then be published on the CEC website. There is no legal deadline for the completion of these audits. Auditors’ reports have to be published by the CEC within 30 days of their submission.
73. The Congress delegation noted with satisfaction that several amendments of the Electoral Code brought more transparency to campaign finance but regretted the late disbursement of additional campaign funds, the lack of a dedicated interim campaign finance report, and the relatively limited sanctions in case of violations which were not conducive to a level playing field between contestants, transparency and accountability. It recommended strengthening oversight and control mechanisms with regard to political party and campaign financing by introducing a requirement for political parties to submit interim reports on campaign finances ahead of elections.
10. MEDIA
74. The Constitution provides for freedom of expression, media freedom and the right to information, and prohibits censorship of all means of communication. Albania is ranked 103rd out of 180 countries in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters without Borders (83 in 2021).[84]
75. The media landscape in Albania is vibrant and competitive, but highly polarised and mirroring its political scene. TV has the highest share of advertising market and is considered the primary source of information due to its wide geographical coverage.[85] The public broadcaster RTSH covers both TV and radio and has three local branches. Some Congress interlocutors considered the public broadcaster as partly controlled by the Government.[86] In addition, there are about 60 local TV channels, 80 cable TV channels, including private TV Klan and Top Channel, 60 local radios and approximately 25 daily newspapers. However, Covid-19 and its economic consequences took a heavy toll on the printed press in Albania and there are as little as six newspapers being currently distributed, and mostly in Tirana. Most print media have now transferred to online media. There is no restriction on access to the internet nor on the content shared, which provides an open sphere for public discourse and led to the recent development of a lively online media market.[87] The number of media operators, estimated to be close to 800, has increased along with internet penetration, but this has not automatically resulted in more diverse or high-quality content.[88] Congress interlocutors regretted the absence of regulation regarding campaign coverage in online media.
76. Media outlets in Albania are increasingly vulnerable to economic pressure and the quality and independence of their reporting is often challenged by economic interests, leading to poor ethical standards or self-censorship. A number of media owners systematically use their media assets to serve their own private or political agendas and concentration of media under the control of such groups has intensified in recent years.[89]
77. Furthermore, disinformation, including smear campaigns between politicians, is recurrent in Albania, especially in online media, the self-regulation of which is not ensured.[90] The atmosphere of verbal attacks, slander and acts of intimidation persist also against journalists,[91] especially regarding women. Disinformation is a common feature of domestic political competition, but is generally opportunistic and short-lived.[92] As a result, citizens’ trust in the media is low. According to a UNDP survey on trust, only one in three Albanian citizens believed that the information provided by Albanian media is accurate/true.[93]
78. Campaign coverage in the audio-visual media is regulated in detail by the Electoral Code, which provides for proportional access for all electoral contestants to news and information programmes in broadcast media, and free-of-charge campaign opportunities on the public broadcaster, proportionally to their electoral support (Articles 80-85 of the Electoral Code). The Electoral Code allows paid political advertisement on private media which must inform the CEC of fees applied for such airtime and may not exceed 90 minutes per electoral subject. In line with the Electoral Code, the CEC decided during its session of 13 April 2023 on the allocation of broadcasting time for each electoral subject.[94] Congress interlocutors pointed out that it provides a significant advantage for parliamentary parties. The public broadcaster RTSH must also ensure public access to a wide range of political viewpoints during the campaign and air the CEC-prepared voter awareness information, as well as election-related programmes in Aromanian, Greek, Macedonian, Romani, and Serbian languages.
79. The Electoral Code does not prohibit footage produced by political parties to be aired, which raises concerns regarding potential blurring of the separation between editorial content and political advertising. Footage pre-produced and distributed by parties has been noted as problematic by the Congress and ODIHR in the past, both calling for respective amending of the Electoral Code. Nevertheless, this practice continues to be used nearly systematically.[95] The Fact-finding Report of the CoE Partners on the Platform on safety of journalists stressed that “the office of the Prime Minister continues to use its own communication apparatus to distribute pre-packaged written and audio-visual content to the media. The Prime Minister’s own communication channel, Edi Rama Television (ERTV), continues to broadcast conversations featuring soft-ball questions to the PM and other politicians. The same practice is employed by the mayor of Tirana, whose closely-curated content dominates television screens, shapes news coverage and bypasses journalistic scrutiny.” [96] As a result, journalists have little direct and transparent access to political subjects during the campaign and cannot hold political actors accountable or question their programmes.
80. With the 2020 amendments of the Electoral Code, the Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA) was entrusted with the task of monitoring media coverage of audio-visual media service providers during the election campaign. The AMA found that the Coalition “Together We Win”, the Socialist Party and to a lesser extent the Democratic Party were represented disproportionately in the news in both live and recorded content. Together, these three electoral subjects were represented in close to 96% of the media coverage of all contestants. The Coalition was covered the most, with close to 40% of total airtime. The national figures, Mr BERISHA and PM RAMA, were the two politicians most visible in the media during this campaign, even though they did not compete in the local elections.[97] In some cases, the CEC Commissioner requested immediate compensation time for under-represented parties on some channels and prohibited the broadcasting of political advertisement on others.[98] Many Congress interlocutors regretted the absence of televised debates but also the lack of measures applicable to live TV, as some political actors benefitted from extensive live airtime on public and private channels.
81. In addition, during the official campaign period, social media platforms of public institutions both at the national and local level, intended for official information, were sometimes used for disseminating campaign information. According to a CEC regulation adopted on 30 March 2023, mayors could not use the official municipality’s social media accounts to present electoral activities of the mayor him/herself or of the political party he/she represents.[99] Congress interlocutors regretted that this instruction did not apply to ministers, including the PM, and that contestants sometimes disregarded it. They also deplored that violations were not always adequately sanctioned by the CEC.
82. The Congress delegation noted with concern the overall worrying situation of the media characterised by polarisation and high concentration of ownership which contributed to self-censorship and shrinking editorial autonomy. The Rapporteur also regretted the imbalance in media coverage due to the use of content pre-produced by political parties and rules for airtime significantly favouring parties represented in the Assembly. The delegation recommended reviewing existing electoral and media legislation, in particular regarding the distribution of pre-produced content (Article 84.2.d of the Electoral Code), the use of official social media accounts and distribution of airtime among electoral subjects.
11. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN ELECTIONS[100]
83. Article 15 of the Law on Gender Equality in Society provides for a minimum 30% representation of both genders in all legislative, executive, judicial bodies as well as in the election administration.[101] For local council elections, a 50% quota with alternate placement is established by the Electoral Code (Article 67.6). Before the 2023 elections, 13% of the mayors and 43.6% of the local councillors were women. Preliminary results show that after the elections, women representation in local governments has remained stable with 13% of mayors (8 elected for 15 candidates) and 42.2% of local councillors elected being women.[102] Since the Assembly elections in 2021, 35.71% of MPs are women and positively 12 out of the 17 ministers in the current Government are women. [103]
84. However, women still remain under-represented in public and political life, especially in decision-making positions and in particular as mayors. They are often subject to sexist and derogatory rhetoric during election campaigns[104] and face numerous challenges and harassment, including in local politics, which often discourage them from running.[105] Some Congress interlocutors noted a lack of efforts by the Government and political parties to raise public awareness on women’s participation in public and political life at local level.[106]
85. During the campaign, according to observations made by long-term ODIHR observers, women were less represented in the audience at campaign events but participated in key rallies as candidates.[107] Furthermore, preliminary data gathered by ODIHR found that the electoral administration did not fulfil its 30% gender criteria at the CEC-level (3/12 members) and in VCCs.
86. The Congress delegation noted the successful application of the requirement of a 50% quota of female candidates on lists leading to women being well represented in local councils. However, the delegation deplored the absence of measures to encourage women to become mayors and regretted that the number of women elected mayor stagnated at 13%. It recommends to introduce incentive measures to strengthen the participation of women in mayoral races and to contribute to a balanced representation in decision-making positions at local level.
12. USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
87. Articles 22 and 23 of the Electoral Code allow for the CEC to explore, experiment and decide on the use of information systems and equipment in elections. This provision has been included in the 2020 amendments as many Albanian stakeholders perceived e-voting and counting as a way to reduce counting time, double-voting and errors and therefore, increase trust in electoral processes. The Electoral Code also provides that their deployment should be implemented gradually by pilot projects which shall include no more than 20% of the voters (Article 179.1).
88. After the piloting of e-voting and counting in Vorë municipality and one EAZ of Tirana in the 2021 elections[108] as well as a continuation of this practice in the 2022 partial elections, the CEC announced an extension of the e-voting and counting pilot to the 401 voting centres of the municipalities of Elbasan, Vorë and Kamez for the 2023 local elections (representing a total of 310 846 registered voters).[109] Some Congress interlocutors questioned the choice of municipalities for this pilot. The e-voting device chosen allowed voters to select candidates on a touchscreen and printed a receipt for each voter. These receipts were subsequently placed in a sealed ballot box for manual counting. The CEC organised testing of the e-voting and counting system on 4 May 2023 by checking 3% of the devices to simulate the entire process of opening, closing, and transmitting votes. Simulations for voters were also held in the three municipalities. Political parties, media outlets, and various interested organisations were invited to take part in this process.[110] For Election Day, the CEC hired dedicated technical operators for polling stations equipped with e-voting machines.
89. Appeals for recount were filed in Elbasan and Kamëz, but not in Vorë. The CEC proceeded to a manual recount and corrected the results table in four voting centres in Elbasan and two in Kamëz, as discrepancies were noted.[111]
90. In addition, identification of voters was performed throughout the country by electronic identification devices, supported by technical operators hired by the CEC. While this system seemed to function relatively well in 2021 and 2022, many observers reported malfunctions of the system on the Election Day in 2023, in particular at opening, causing interruptions of up to three hours, therefore significantly delaying voting. Shorter interruptions were also reported, often towed to the malfunctioning of the fingerprint reader, either due to technical reasons or dirt accumulating on the glass surface. PM RAMA openly blamed the CEC for these technical issues on national media on Election Day despite the electoral silence.[112]
91. Most Congress interlocutors were pleased with the initiative of the CEC to expand the e-voting pilot and to carry on with electronic identification devices. However, risks associated with the introduction of digital technologies remain to be addressed for further deployment of the system and the process should remain easily accessible and open to independent review from international and domestic observers. The delayed release of funds by the Parliament and delivery of the devices did not allow enough time for voter education and independent scrutiny.[113] Although the e-voting machines appeared to be operating smoothly, any digital service may be difficult to use for certain categories of voters, such as older members of society, resulting in needed assistance and sometimes jeopardising the secrecy of the vote (see Election Day section). The central role of the vendor (and technical operators) should also be assessed, especially regarding the extent to which the CEC and VCCs remained in full control of developments and on all aspects of the electoral process.
92. The Congress delegation noted with satisfaction that the e-voting pilot for electronic voting systems in 401 polling stations was overall assessed positively with no major technical issues observed. However, it regretted that the Election Day was marked by several technical and procedural issues including the malfunctioning of electronic identification devices, voters requiring assistance to use e-voting systems and recommended strengthening reliability and independent oversight of electronic systems.
13. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS
93. Since the 2020 amendments, the Electoral Code provides for a comprehensive legal framework for the resolution of election disputes, with an elaborate administrative complaint procedure and due process guarantees. However, the law does not clearly provide for handling complaints in lower-level commissions, which leaves some ambiguity about which body is responsible for complaints on campaign violations or decisions taken by the VCCs. Furthermore, only parties, coalitions and independent candidates running in the elections can challenge the decisions of CEAZs and the CEC. Voters and observers cannot do so, which is not in line with international good practice. Voters can only submit complaints about their registration and citizen observers may only appeal CEAZ and CEC decisions denying their accreditation.Complaints against all election related CEAZ and CEC decisions are to be submitted to the CEC Complaints and Sanctions Commission which adjudicates the case within two days of submission. Meetings of the CSC are public.
94. Decisions of the CEC, CSC and of the CEC Regulator can be appealed with the Electoral College of the Administrative Court of Appeals in Tirana (Electoral College) whose decisions are final. The Electoral College has 10 days to decide on the appeals received.
95. As of finalisation of this report, the CSC had reviewed 84 complaints. A total of 32 complaints have been submitted to the CSC regarding the results of the elections (see Turnout section below). In addition, the CEC had received over 416 reports by NGOs through the ”Denounce” portal. The Commissioner requested sanctions in 341 cases.[114]
96. In case of criminal offences, any citizen can reach out the State police or a prosecutor (also online). District prosecutors can investigate cases in cooperation with VCCs and CEAZs. For these elections, the General Prosecutor’s office had set up a network of contact points in each region and issued specific instructions for quick and proactive handling of election-related crimes. As of 18 May, 31 cases had been referred to the police or prosecutors, six arrests were made including the arrest of Mr Fredi BELERI, the candidate of the Coalition “Together We Win” in the municipality of Himare.[115] The CEC certified his victory but whether he will be able to take office will now depend on the outcome of the criminal trial. Three cases related to corruption were transferred to the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). Other cases included inter alia instances of multiple voting, vote-buying, intimidating or obstructing voters.
97. Overall, some Congress interlocutors regretted that the CSC could sometimes be perceived as biased, due to its composition and some decisions, and that the complaint procedure was complicated and not well adapted. Other interlocutors regretted the lack of dissuasive enough sanctions in cases of electoral crimes.
98. The Congress delegation was overall satisfied with the handling of complaints by the CEC despite the pre-election period being litigious and diverging interpretation of the Electoral Code.
14. ELECTION DAY[116]
99. On Election Day, 10 teams comprising a total of 20 Congress observers were deployed to observe voting procedures throughout the country in randomly selected voting centres from 7:00 to 19:00. Congress observers were part of a larger international election observation mission of more than 300 observers in partnership with the OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament. 1 500 questionnaires were filled on Election Day and analysed to cross-check observations and to identify potential systemic shortcomings. Overall, the Election Day observed was calm and peaceful but suffered from some procedural and technical issues.
100. In most polling stations observed, opening was delayed because of technical issues with the electronic identification machines or operators not being present at 7:00 (in 9% of polling stations). IEOM observers assessed opening negatively in approximately 40% of the cases and two thirds of polling stations opened with delays. Despite the practical conditions for opening being met, the Congress observers noted some instances of poor organisation and miscommunication between VCCs and CEAZs. VCCs were sometimes not well-aware of their tasks and of the manual procedure to follow in case of the electronic devices not functioning.
101. Throughout the day, while observers assessed the voting procedures and performance of the election administration as mostly good or very good, the high number of negative assessments by IEOM observers (7%) shed light on recurring issues. Generally, the VCC members seemed well‑trained and polling station set-up ensured the secrecy of the vote. The CEC had equipped all VCCs with video cameras and it appeared that the cameras were functional and operated in a manner that preserved the secrecy of the vote and without causing noticeable feelings of intimidation among the voters in most voting centres.
102. In some instances, voting centres were located in rooms which were not adapted to voters with disabilities, and/or too small to ensure a smooth flow of voters, causing congestion both inside and outside the polling station. Notably, more than half of the VCCs visited by Congress teams were not wheelchair accessible. In addition, despite the CEC providing material in Braille for voters with visual impairments, the Congress observers noted in few instances that commissioners were not well aware of the procedure to follow on how to use the cover with Braille script.
103. Upon entering the voting centres, voters were identified based on ID cards or passports. Identity matching was performed electronically by cross-checking information against the data held in the e‑identification device. In addition, fingerprints were scanned to substitute the signing process on the paper voter list and saved in the device’s memory, without any additional local processing. However, in some instances, Congress observes noted that the devices malfunctioned and refused to recognise the fingerprint of voters, in particular the elderly. These complications were the main source of interruptions in the flow of voters and sometimes created queues. In those instances, the VCC reverted to a manual registering of voters, but Congress observers noted that there was no cross-checking of the electronic list with the physical list to assess whether somebody had voted twice. In addition, voters were not always checked for indelible ink in 27% of polling stations observed by IEOM observers.
104. Congress and international observers noticed some violations of the Electoral and Criminal Codes throughout the day which included gatherings outside of polling stations,[117] instances of family voting (12%), the same person assisting several voters (3%) or the presence of unauthorised persons (4%).[118] Observers also witnessed instances of people keeping track of voters outside of polling stations (11%), and voters being compelled to vote for a party (3%). The Congress observers regretted the relatively low number of domestic observers, who are usually deployed in large numbers in Albania, but met many party representatives throughout the day, from the SP and the two DP factions mostly. In certain cases, party observers interfered with the process (6%), including at opening. Several Congress observers also came across journalists who sometimes entered the voting centres in an intrusive manner and/or did not always respect instructions of VCC Presidents.
105. The Congress observers were also deployed in some of the 401 voting centres where e-voting was deployed and observed generally calm and well-organised procedures and voting screens did not face major technical issues. Dedicated technical operators were present in all voting centres and informed the voters on how to use the touch screen while, in most of the cases, respecting distances. VCC Presidents mentioned that they had received specific training on how to handle opening, voting and counting. However, Congress observers noted that older voters were not always very well aware of the procedure and required help on how to use the machines, which in some instances compromised the secrecy of the vote. In one instance, Congress observers witnessed a person assisting five voters from the Roma community to use the touchscreen.[119]
106. Based on observations of Congress and IEOM observers, closing was handled smoothly and instructions were clear and well implemented (sealing of materials, tasks of VCC members, etc). In all polling stations observed, polling stations closed on time and policemen were waiting to accompany the VCC President and Secretary for the handover of ballot boxes from the VCCs to the BCCs.One of the Congress observation teams reported that the camera had been shut off at 19:00 and that the closing procedures were completed without the camera recording and in two instances, party observers without visible accreditation observed the closing. No major incident with the electronic devices was observed at this stage. Handover was overall good, despite overcrowding. Only a few boxes were declared irregular.
107. Due to the start of the counting late in the night and its continuation for three days, no Congress observer observed the counting, except in one polling station equipped with e-voting where counting was done quickly and smoothly. IEOM observers deployed specifically for counting indicated that the counting was slow but generally transparent, with only a few tense moments. Counting was very time consuming as it was conducted in BCCs with ballot boxes counted one after the other and, for reasons of transparency, every single ballot paper had to be presented to the cameras. 11-12% of the observations at this stage assessed the counting as bad or very bad.[120]
108. The Congress delegation noted the efforts made to ensure that the Election Day was overall calm and transparent and welcomed the peaceful and professional manner in which the elections were conducted in most polling stations. However, the delegation noted with concern several technical and procedural difficulties on Election Day including lack of accessibility of polling stations for voters with disabilities, breaches to the secrecy of the vote, delays due to technical issues with the voting machines and a still relatively high number of Electoral and Criminal code violations. The delegation recommended to ensure the accessibility of polling stations, strengthen reliability of electronic systems, reinforce the training provided to lower-level commissioners in order to increase their knowledge of the procedures and consider the introduction of more dissuasive sanctions in case of electoral violations.
15. TURN-OUT, RESULTS AND POST-ELECTION DAY DEVELOPMENTS
109. The turnout for the 2023 local elections was 38.23%, representing 1 395 627 out of the 3 650 202 registered voters.[121] Because of the inclusion of voters who are not living in Albania in the registers, turnout can be considered higher. Turnout depended on the municipality with several municipalities around 52% (Kükes, Kolonjë, Pukë, Fushë-Arrëz) and the lowest turnout registered in Finiq (19.7%). Since the elections, the CEC handled many complaints and completed the process of confirming the mandates of councils and mayors on 26 June (to the exception of Rrogozhinë, see below). Overall, the local council and mayoral elections were both won by the incumbent Socialist Party in a large majority of municipalities.
110. In the local council elections, the SP got most votes in 57 out of 61 municipalities and an absolute majority in 16 of these municipalities, including Tirana. It gained 757 out of 1 613 seats which constitutes a decrease from the previous 1 555 seats. A coalition with its junior coalition partner at national level, the Social Democratic Party, could give them a comfortable majority in an additional eight municipalities. The Social Democratic Party came first in the four remaining municipalities (Püke, Malesi e Madhë, Fushë-Arrëz and Vau-Dejës) and won 116 seats. The main contender, the Coalition “Together We Win”, was the second biggest party in 50 municipalities and won 291 seats. The officially recognised DP won 123 seats. 31 Other parties have made minor gains, but due to the seat distribution method, received 308 mandates including 50 seats for the Environmentalist Agrarian Party and 34 for the Republican Party. Seven independents were elected to local councils.
111. In some municipalities where the SP did not reach a clear majority, a majority in the council may be more difficult to find and coalitions will need to be discussed at local level between former rivals. In the municipalities where the SP is represented with less than 30% support, the councils appear to include a greater number of parties and several with more than just one council member.[122] Therefore, multi-party local councils have been re-elected in a significant number of municipalities, following their disappearance in 2019. Overall, 681 women were elected, which represent 42.2% of all councillors and constitute a small decrease compared to the 2019 elections. Only 214 citizens under 30 years old were elected, including 79 persons under 25.
112. In first-past-the-post elections of mayors, 53 of the 61 municipalities got a mayor from the SP, including Tirana, where the SP candidate, Erion VELIAJ got 54.69% of the votes and the main contender, Belind KELLIÇI of the Coalition “Together We Win”, 34.58%. The Coalition won mayors in seven municipalities[123] and came second in 51. The MEGA, a party of the Greek minority, kept a mayor in one municipality. The officially recognised DP did not get a mayor and arrived second in three municipalities. In three municipalities, the mayoral races were extremely tight with the main contender of the Coalition “Together We Win” only a few dozens of votes behind. For instance, in Rrogozhinë, only 21 votes separated the two candidates, in Belsh, 39 votes and in Himarë 19 votes. Regrettably, only eight women were elected mayor (all from the Socialist Party). The youngest mayor is 32 years old and the average age is 48.
113. In the days followingthe first announcement of results, several parties submitted complaints to the CEC on the preliminary results and requested recounts in some voting centres. A total of 32 complaints have been submitted to the Complaints and Sanctions Commission regarding the results of the elections in some 20 municipalities. Most of the complaints dealt with the results of the local council elections, while only three complaints are about the result of the mayoral elections (Elbasan, Kuçovë and Belsh). The CSC accepted 18 appeals for review and rejected 10 appeals from review. Concerning the remaining four appeals, the CSC decided to suspend the cases, while three CSC decisions have been appealed to the Electoral College at the Administrative Court of Appeal.[124]
114. In the municipalities where few votes separated the candidates for mayor, requests for recount were submitted. Some recounts followed and corrections were made by the CEC.[125] In addition, the CSC dismissed requests by the Coalition “Together We Win” to proceed to a full recount in the three municipalities that had used e-voting machines and also refused their request for international experts to study the system and compare the results. In addition, some political subjects also submitted complaints about criminal past of elected officials which the Commissioner reviewed and sent to the General Prosecutor, if relevant[126]. The Domestic Observation Coalition KRIIK stressed that the electoral dispute resolution mechanism needed to go beyond a simple correction of mistakes, aiming in every circumstance to establish justice to redress potential distortion of the will of the voters. [127]
115. On 15 June 2023, following the appeal of the Coalition “Together We Win” on the results in Rroghozinë, the Electoral College of Tirana repealed the decision of the CSC and declared the elections null and void due to irregularities in a polling station at the local prison.[128] Furthermore, in Kukës, the elected SP mayor had to resign following the opening of the SPAK investigation on potential abuse of office.[129] These two events will led to the organisation of repeated and by-elections.
116. The Congress delegation regretted that, despite important efforts in transparency and handling of the cases, trust in counting and allocating mandates in Albania is still low, including in areas where e-voting systems were deployed. The progressive announcement of results has shown little trust in the follow-up of the elections. Not all political subjects accepted the results, contrarily to the by-elections of 2023. The litigious process remains time-consuming, with the final results finalised 40 days after the Election Day. Mr Sali BERISHA continued to denounce irregularities in elections in which his party was defeated and did not accept the results of the elections. In a media conference, he called for “civil disobedience to the government” by citizens.[130]
117. In the aftermath of the elections, and in light of the loss of the officially recognised DP, the College of Chairmen of the DP announced that “The Democratic Party must, without any delay, choose its chairperson and start the organisation and selection of the teams that will lead this party to the next elections”[131] and announced the election of its new party President for 29 July. As of 20 June, there were two candidacies for the presidency of DP, Mr Lulzim BASHA, previous Mayor of Tirana and head of DP until 2022, and Mr Gjergj HANI.[132]
118. The Congress delegation observed with concern the still strong advantage of the incumbency in both council and mayoral races but noted with satisfaction that all political actors participated in the elections. However, it regretted the lack of trust surrounding the counting and announcement of results and also noted the stagnating number of women elected mayor. The Congress delegation will inform the next Congress Rapporteurs on the Monitoring of the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Albania of the threats expressed by PM RAMA during the campaign against opposition mayors to check to what extend this situation might impact some provisions of the Charter.
16. CONCLUSIONS
119. Overall, the Congress delegation observed competitive, efficiently managed and transparent local elections in Albania. It welcomed the various improvements brought in by the Electoral Code amendments to further guarantee the integrity of the electoral process, including strengthened oversight on media, campaign finance and follow-up on denunciations of election-related crimes. The CEC, as reorganised in 2020, improved its transparency while working under pressure from the Government and political subjects.
120. In the preparatory phase, the decision of the Commissioner not to apply the four-month ban on announcement of decisions may have contributed to a strong imbalance in favour of the ruling party. Besides, as noted in previous recommendation, the politicisation of lower-level commissions and the power bestowed on political parties to dismiss their appointees at any time created unnecessary delays and challenges for their training. Additional effort could be devoted to solving some long-standing issues such as the misuse of public resources, out-of-country voters registered on voter list, the worrying situation of the media, in order to allow for a more fair and open voting process.
121. The Congress delegation regretted that the campaign did not offer voters enough balanced debates and programmes to make a fully informed decision at local level, also due to unbalanced media coverage. The election campaign was almost entirely carried out at the national level between the leaders of the main political parties resulting in a situation where the local issues and the concerns of voters at the local level were effectively side-lined to focus on personal attacks between personalities that have rhythmed Albanian politics since over 20 years. Although many candidates competed in these local elections, genuine debates and local political programmes were missing. In that regard, special attention should be awarded to efforts which address the current underrepresentation of women as mayors but also to ensure a more even playing field for independents. Addressing these issues may contribute to restore citizens’ trust in the electoral processes and the rule of law. In the long term, a lively local democracy could facilitate participation of the youth and offer more opportunities to them at local level.
122. The Congress delegation observed a clam and transparent Election Day, which was however marked by many technical and procedural difficulties including violations of the secrecy of the vote, misuse of assisted voting, the low representation of women, both as candidates in mayoral elections and in election administration, and a lack of accessibility to polling stations for voters with disabilities. All of these should be addressed by the authorities, including via the introduction of more dissuasive sanctions and follow-up.
123. The observers of the Congress noted several issues related to the use of new technologies in voting procedures, which caused delays in the opening of polling stations and problems with voter identification and occasionally compromised the secrecy of the vote. Voter awareness of the e-voting system was not ensured, especially for older voters. While interlocutors met by the Congress ahead of the Election Day were hoping that e-voting would improve trust in the process, it is unclear if this goal was achieved in practice as allegations of interference, biased choice of pilot municipalities, miscounts or fraud were raised by the opposition in the days following the Election Day.
124. Based on the existing electoral standards and observations made on Election Day, some long standing matters of concern remain unaddressed, and the Congress delegation calls on the authorities to address these in the next revision of the Electoral Code. The delegation commends however that these elections showed a return of the opposition in local councils which restored a level of dialogue and will potentially contribute to strengthening local democracy in Albania.
APPENDIX I
CONGRESS ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO ALBANIA
14 May 2023 – Local Elections
(11-15 May 2023, Tirana)
FINAL PROGRAMME
Thursday 11 May 2023
Various times Arrival of the Congress delegation in Tirana
Friday 12 May 2023
08:30 – 09:00 Briefing for the delegation with Ms Svitlana PEREVERTEN, Co-Secretary of the Monitoring Committee
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
09:00 – 09:30 Briefing with Mr Olsi DEKOVI, Acting Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
09:30 – 10:10 Briefing with representatives of local government associations
· Ms Adelina FARRICI, Executive Director, Association of Local Autonomy of Albania
· Ms Matilda HAMZALLARI and Ms Emirjona HUTI, the Association of Albanian Regional Councils
· Mr Agron HAXHIMALI, Executive Director, Institute for Albanian Municipalities
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
10:10 – 10:20 Coffee break
10:20 – 10:50 Meeting with Mr Olsian ÇELA, General Prosecutor of Albania
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
11:00 – 12:00 Briefing with Mr Ilirjan CELIBASHI, Commissioner of the Central Election Commission of Albania
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
12:00 – 13:15 Lunch break
13:15 – 13:30 Introduction by the Heads of delegation of the International Election Observation Mission: Ms Audrey GLOVER, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, Mr Sven SIMON, Head of delegation of the European Parliament and Mr Stewart DICKSON, Head of delegation of the Congress
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
13:30 – 15:00 Joint briefing with the Core Team of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Albania and the delegation of the European Parliament
· Political context, Ivan GODÁRSKY, Political Analyst
· Election administration, Election-day procedures and STO reporting, Desislava HRISTOVA, Election Analyst and Anders ERIKSON, Statistical Analyst
· Media landscape and campaign, Giovanna MAIOLA, Media Analyst, and Ružica JOVANOVIĆ, Junior Media Analyst
· Security briefing, Slaviša KOTLAJA, Security Expert
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
15:15 – 16:15 Briefing with representatives of the diplomatic corps of countries represented in the Congress delegation
· Mr Karel URBAN, Ambassador, Czech Republic
· Ms Christiane HOHMANN,Ambassador, EU Delegation to Albania
· Ms Elisabeth BARSACQ, Ambassador, France
· Mr Konstantinos KARAMOUSALIS, Second Counsellor, Greece
· Mr Fabrizio BUCCI, Ambassador, Italy
· Mr Reinout VOS, Ambassador, Netherlands
· Mr Alvaro RENEDO ZALBA, Ambassador, Spain
· Mr Beat MÜLLER, Academic intern, Switzerland
· Ms Mia MARZOUK, Deputy-Head of Mission, United Kingdom
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
16:15 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 17:30 Panel with media representatives
· Ms Kristina VOKO, BIRN
· Ms Klodiana KAPO, Faktoje
· Mr Enton ABILEKAJ, Albanian Media Council
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
17:45 – 18:15 Congress technical briefing for delegation members
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
18:15 – 18:45 Congress technical briefing with drivers and interpreters
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
|
Saturday 13 May 2023 |
09:00 – 09:30 Briefing for the delegation with Ms Svitlana PEREVERTEN, Co-Secretary of the Monitoring Committee
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
09:30 – 10:30 Briefing with representatives of domestic election observers and local NGOs
· Mr Afrim KRASNIQI, Institute of Political Studies (ISP)
· Ms Antuela MALE, KRIIK
· Mr Erjon TASE, Albanian School of Political Studies (ASPS)
· Ms Esmeralda HOXHA, POP Network
· Ms Elsa DAUTAJ, Equality in Decision making Network
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
10:30 – 10:45 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:00 Meeting with Mr Erion VELIAJ, incumbent Mayor of Tirana and Head of delegation of Albania to the Congress, Ms Majlinda BUFI and Ms Valentina HALITI, members of the delegation of Albania to the Congress, Ms Anuella RISTANI, Deputy-Mayor of Tirana and Ms Romina KUKO, Head of the local council of Tirana
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
12:00 – 13:30 Lunch break
14: 15 Departure of the teams deployed outside of Tirana
1 Team from Tirana to Kukës
2 Team from Tirana to Fier
1 Team from Tirana to Shkodër
18:00 – 19:00 Briefing with OSCE/ODIHR long-term observers deployed in Kukës, Fier and Shkodër
Venue: Hotel GJALLICA in Kükes, Hotel ALBES in Fier, Hotel GOLDEN PALACE in Shkodër.
Venue: MAK Hotel Tirana
14:30 – 15:15 Briefing with representatives and/ or candidates of the Democratic Party of Albania
· Mr Enkelejd ALIBEAJ, Acting Chairman
· Mr Roland BEJKO, Candidate for Mayor of Tirana
· Ms Enriketa PAPA, Head of List for the local council of Tirana
· Mr Indrit SEFA, Secretary of Legal Affairs
· Ms Marinela ZIU, Election Advisor
· Mr Rezart KTHUPI, Election Advisor
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
15:30 – 16:15 Briefing with representatives and/ or candidates of the Coalition Together We Win
· Mr Petrit VASILI, Deputy Chairman, Freedom Party
· Mr Belind KELLICI, Candidate for Mayor of Tirana, Mr Oerd BYLYKBASHI, Deputy Chairman in charge of foreign affairs and campaign manager, Mr Ylli ASLLANI, Secretary for Local Government, Democratic Party faction led by Mr Sali BERISHA:
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
16:15 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 17:30 Briefing with representatives and/ or candidates of smaller parties and coalitions
· Ms Marina DUHANI, Mr Glejdis KULI, Mr Bilbil DERVISHI and Mr Ralf TAFOJ, Candidates running for the local council of Tirana, Social Democratic Party
· Mrs Lajla PERNASKA, Candidate for Mayor of Tirana, Party for Justice, Integration and Unity
· Mr Arjan MADHI, General Secretary, Albanian Republican Party
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
17:30 – 18:00 Briefing with OSCE/ODIHR long-term observers deployed in Tirana
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Room Antigonea 1, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 9, Tirana
18:00 – 18:30 De-briefing
Sunday 14 May 2023 – Election Day
06:30 approx. Deployment of 10 Congress teams to the polling stations
(cf. “Deployment plan”)
22:00 approx. Late night de-briefing
Monday 15 May 2023
08:00 Briefing with Anders ERIKSON, OSCE/ODIHR Statistical Analyst
09:00 Final meeting of heads of delegations to discuss the preliminary statement with OSCE/ODIHR and the Delegation of the European Parliament
Various times Departure of some members of the Congress Delegation
15:00 Joint Press Conference to present the preliminary conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission with Mr Stewart DICKSON, Head of Delegation
Venue: Tirana International Hotel, Balsha room, Sheshi Skënderbej 8, Tirana
Delegation
Congress members
Mr Stewart DICKSON, United Kingdom (ILDG, R), Head of Delegation
Ms Kirsten ANDERSEN, Denmark (SOC/G/PD, R)
Mr Alexander BOOMGAARS, Netherlands (SOC/G/PD, L)
Mr Xavier CADORET, France (SOC/G/PD, L)
Mr Joao Manuel ESTEVES, Portugal (EPP/CCE, L)
Ms Jana FISCHEROVA, Czech Republic (ECR, L)
Ms Ana GONZALEZ RODRIGUEZ, Spain, (SOC/G/PD, L)
Ms Belinda GOTTARDI, Italy (SOC/G/PD, L)
Ms Tanja JOONA, Finland (ILDG, L)
Mr Ott KASURI, Estonia (ILDG, L)
Mr Konstantinos KOUKAS, Greece (EPP/CCE, L)
Mr Matija KOVAC, Serbia (EPP/CCE, R)
Mr James MOLONEY, Ireland (ILDG, L)
Mr Kristoffer TAMSONS, Sweden (EPP/CCE, R)
Ms Sevdia UGREKHELIDZE, Georgia (EPP/CCE, L)
Expert
Mr Markku SUKSI, Finland, member of the Group of Independent Experts
Congress Secretariat
Ms Svitlana PEREVERTEN, Co-Secretary, Monitoring Committee
Ms Mathilde GIRARDI, Election observation Officer
Ms Marie THOMET, Election observation Officer
Ms Martine ROUDOLFF, Assistant, Local and Regional Election Observation
APPENDIX II
CONGRESS ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION
14 May 2023 – Local Elections in Albania
DEPLOYMENT PLAN
|
Congress teams |
Composition of the Congress teams |
Saturday night |
Area of Deployment |
|
Team 1 |
Stewart DICKSON Markku SUKSI Interpreter (EN/ALB): Sokol REXHEPI Driver: Enea MARTOPULLO |
TIRANA |
TIRANA NORTH and WEST– Kashar, Ndroq, Vaqarr districts), SHIJAK, VORË, KAMEZ |
|
Team 2 |
Svitlana PEREVERTEN Mathilde GIRARDI Interpreter (EN/ALB): Klodjana SKENDAJ Driver: Mario MANAHASA |
TIRANA |
DURRËS, KAVAJË, RROGHOZINE, PEQIN, DIVJAKE |
|
Team 3 |
Ana GONZALEZ RODRIGUEZ Kristoffer TAMSONS Interpreter (EN/ALB): Elton SKENDAJ Driver: Ylli POJANA |
TIRANA |
TIRANA SOUTH-EAST (Tirane, Farke, Petrele, Zall-Bastar, Dajt, Shengjergj, Berzhite, Krrabes, Baldushk, Pete districts) |
|
Team 4 |
Konstantinos KOUKAS James MOLONEY Interpreter (EN/ALB): Sonila MEHMETI Driver: Arsen KANTO |
TIRANA |
CERRIK, LUSHNJE, BELSH, KUCOVE |
|
Team 5 |
Jana FISCHEROVA Martine ROUDOLFF Interpreter (EN/ALB): Viola JONUZI Driver: Liman MIFTARI |
TIRANA |
KRUJË, KURBIN, KLOS, MAT, LEZHE |
|
Team 6 |
Belinda GOTTARDI Sevdia UGREKHELIDZE Interpreter (EN/ALB): Eriada CELA Driver: Bujar MOQI |
TIRANA |
ELBASAN, GRAMSH, LIBRAZDH |
|
Team 7 |
Joao Manuel ESTEVES Matija KOVAC Interpreter (EN/ALB): Erin DRINI Driver: Mikele |
Based in SHKODËR Hotel Golden Palace Bulevardi Skënderbeu 4001 Shkodër |
SHKODËR, MALESI E-MAHDE, VAU I DEJES, PUKE |
|
Team 8 |
Tanja JOONA Ott KASURI Interpreter (EN/ALB): Marin BENUSSI Driver: Mirgen NERGUTI |
Based in KUKËS Hotel Gjallica Rruga Dituria, 8503 Kukës |
KUKËS, HAS, possibly PESHKOPI or MIRDITE |
|
Team 9 |
Xavier CADORET Marie THOMET Interpreter (FR/ALB): Rezarta MYDERIZI Driver: And TURKU |
Based in FIER Hotel ALBES Rruga Teodor i II Muzaka 9300 Fier +355 67 701 2345 |
FIER, VLORË, SELENICE |
|
Team 10 |
Kirsten ANDERSEN Alexander BOOMGAARS Interpreter (EN/ALB): Brian GEGA Driver: Andrea DHIGORI |
Based in FIER Hotel ALBES Rruga Teodor i II Muzaka 9300 Fier +355 67 701 2345 |
POTOS, BERAT, MALLAKASTER, POLICAN, MEMALIAJ |
APPENDIX III
PRESS RELEASE
Local elections in Albania largely well-administered, but lack of focus on local issues
ELECTIONS STRASBOURG, FRANCE 17 MAY 2023
At the invitation of the Albanian authorities, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe deployed a mission to observe the local elections on 14 May 2023 in 61 municipalities. The Congress mission was headed by Stewart Dickson (United-Kingdom, ILDG) and involved 20 Congress observers including 15 Congress members, one expert and four members of the Secretariat from 16 countries.
The deployment on the ground on Election Day was preceded by preparatory meetings in Tirana on 12 and 13 May with representatives of the diplomatic corps, domestic and international NGOs, national associations of local government as well as the media. The Congress delegation further met the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, Mr Ilirjan Celibashi, and the General Prosecutor of Albania, Mr Olsian Çela.
A briefing with the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Core Team and Long Term Observers was organised, together with the delegation from the EU Parliament. The preparatory programme was rounded off by meetings with candidates running in the local elections and party representatives, as well as members of the Albanian delegation to the Congress.
On Election Day, ten Congress teams were deployed to different cities, towns and adjacent rural areas across the country. “We welcome the peaceful manner in which the elections were conducted. However, long standing matters of concern for the Congress include technical and procedural difficulties on Election Day, low representation of women, both as candidates and in election administration, a lack of accessibility of polling stations for voters with disabilities,” said Stewart Dickson.
“In addition, local elections should be a vehicle for people to decide on local issues’ priorities, which unfortunately, as in previous occasions, was not the case in these elections”, he noted with regret.
The mission was concluded by a joint press conference with OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament on Monday, 15 May 2023, at the Tirana International Hotel.
The Congress draft report and recommendation will be submitted for adoption at the 45th Congress session in October.
[1]. L: Chamber of Local Authorities / R: Chamber of Regions.
EPP/CCE: European People’s Party Group in the Congress.
SOC/G/PD: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats.
ILDG: Independent Liberal and Democratic Group.
ECR: European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
NR: Members not belonging to a political group of the Congress.
[2] Debated by the Chamber of Local Authorities during the 45th Session on 25 October 2023 and adopted by the Congress on 25 October 2023 (see document CPL(2023)45-04, explanatory memorandum), rapporteur: Stewart DICKSON, United Kingdom (R, ILDG).
[3] Prepared with the contribution of Markku SUKSI, Finland, member of the Congress Group of Independent Experts. The report also refers to the International Election Observation mission (OSCE/ODIHR, Congress and European Parliament) Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, 15/05/2023, available at https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/albania/543561.
[4] The Electoral Code was adopted in 2008 and last amended in 2020. An English version of the Electoral Code, provided by the OSCE Presence in Albania is available at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/elctoral_code.pdf.
[5] The longstanding distrust between major parties culminated in February 2019, when the DP and then Socialist Movement for Integration MPs, gave up their mandates, after the Assembly voted down their initiative on vetting of politicians and called for a boycott of the June 2019 local elections. The President issued two decrees to reschedule the Election Day (see Venice Commission opinion in 2019 on the scope of the power of the President to set the dates of elections, available at https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2019)019-e). The Government, Assembly and the CEC opposed the presidential decrees and the CEC decided to proceed with the original date.
[6] Results of past local elections in Albania are available at https://cec.org.al/zgjedhjet-vendore-2019/.
[7] Several smaller parties have also joined the Alliance for Change headed by the DP, the Republican Party (PR, 3 MPs), the Party for Justice, Integration and Unity (PJIU, 2 MPs) and the Legality Movement Party (PLL, 2 MPs) and with one seat each the Environmentalist Agrarian Party (PAA), the Movement for National Development (LZHK) and the Unity for Human Rights Party (PBDNJ).
[8] Mr BERISHA has been declared a persona non grata by the USA and the United-Kingdom.
[9] Two other parties have joined this Coalition: the Christian-Democratic Party and the Human Rights Union Party.
[10] The Constitution of Albania as adopted in 2016 is available at https://www.te.gob.mx/vota_elections/page/countrie/8 and the 2020 amendments are available in English at https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-REF(2020)074-e.
[11] Law 115/2014 on the administrative division of Albania is available in Albanian at https://aam.org.al/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ligj_115-2014_31.07.2014.pdf and Law 139/2015 on local self-government is available at https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00N6DR.pdf.
[12] For an analysis of Local Government in Albania, see the Status Report of Albanian Local Government 2022 prepared by the Institute of Albanian Municipalities, available at https://iam.org.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Local-government-status-report-2022-English.pdf.
[13] Despite its size and economic importance, Tirana does not have any additional financial, fiscal or budgetary powers to distinguish it from other municipalities. However, since the local self-government reforms came into force, the city’s own resources have increased considerably while the budget itself has risen from 25 million to 180 million euros. See Recommendation (2021)468 and Report CG(2021)41-11 on the Monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Albania available at https://search.coe.int/congress/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a42072.
[14] Tirana municipality forms part of the Tirana regional council, on which it is represented by 12 members. The president of the Tirana regional council is a member of Tirana local council.
[15] UNDP, Trust in Governance Opinion Poll 2020, 8/06/2020, available at: https://www.undp.org/albania/publications/trust-governance-opinion-poll-2020.
[16] The National Survey of Albania (February 2023) of the IRI is available at https://www.iri.org/resources/national-survey-of-albania-february-2023/.
[17] See Congress Recommendation 468 (2021) and Report CG(2021)41-11 on Local democracy in Albania and its explanatory memorandum, available at https://www.congress-monitoring.eu/en/35-pays.html.
[18] Other laws and regulations related to elections are the Law on Political Parties, the Law on Demonstrations, the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Guaranteeing the Integrity of Persons Elected, Appointed or Exercising Public Functions (the so-called Law on Decriminalisation) as well as regulations issued by the CEC.
[19] On 5 October 2020, another set of amendments was introduced, this time around in a rather hasty procedure and without consultations. However, most of these amendments were of a technical nature, predominately correcting errors from the July amendments, such as rules on allocation of seats or registration of coalitions. An NDI Public opinion survey from 2020 found that close to 50% of respondents agreed that this reform reflected only the interests of political parties and not those of the Albanian citizens. See https://www.ndi.org/publications/albania-ndi-public-opinion-research-reveals-how-strengthen-public-engagement-politics.
[20] See Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR on the amendments to the Constitution of 30 July 2020 and to the Electoral Code of 5 October 2020 at https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-AD(2020)036-e.
[21] See on this matter, the EU 2022 Albania report, available at https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/dde85556-8061-41f3-ba0c-5e921158bc53_en?filename=Albania%20Report%202022.pdf.
[22] Some Congress interlocutors mentioned the possibility for preferential voting to be instituted for the next local elections.
[23] The CEC Commissioner, inter alia, stated that the prohibition of proposal, approval, issuing of legislation stipulating provisions of benefits to certain categories of the population in the four months prior to elections (Article 91.4 of the Electoral Code) shall only apply to national but not to local elections. See Election Campaign section.
[24] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is available at https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
[25] The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights.
[26] The Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (CETS No 009) is available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=009.
[27] The European Charter of Local Self-Government (CETS No 122) is available at https://rm.coe.int/168007a088.
[28] The Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority (CETS No 207) is available at https://rm.coe.int/168008482a.
[29] Observation of local and regional elections – strategy and rules of the Congress – Resolution 306 (2010).
[30] Congress policy in observing local and regional elections – Resolution 274 (2008).
[31] The Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters is available at https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2002)023rev2-cor-e.
[32] The 1990 Copenhagen document is available at https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/14304.
[33] All Congress transversal reports, resolutions and recommendations in the field of elections are available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/congress/transversal-reports-local-and-regional-elections.
[34] All Venice Commission standards are available at https://www.venice.coe.int/WebForms/pages/?p=01_01_Coe_electoral_standards.
[35] See the Congress Report on the local elections in Albania in 2015 available at https://rm.coe.int/observation-of-local-elections-in-albania-21-june-2015-resolution-reco/1680718db0.
[36] The Information Report as submitted to the Congress Bureau is available at http://rm.coe.int/09000016809e2161.
[37] The Congress report is available at https://search.coe.int/congress/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a811e8 .
[38] All provisions regarding the election administration bodies can be found in Part II of the Electoral Code.
[39] For instance, former Chairperson ZGURI (DP) voted against the 2019 Local Elections results, suggesting that he could not approve this electoral process due to the low performance of the CEC. See https://exit.al/en/head-of-election-commission-in-albania-receives-death-threat/
[40] During the campaign, some Congress interlocutors regretted that decisions of the CEC were not always published in a timely manner. For details, see the website of the CEC, in particular https://kqz.gov.al/procesverbalet-e-mbledhjeve/?lang=en.
[41] See the full list of CEAZ available at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Vendim-nr.-41-date-8.2.2023-Per-caktimin-e-njesive-administrative-ku-do-te-krijohen-selite-e-KZAZ-2.pdf.
[42] See CEC Decision, 9/01/2023 at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vendim-nr.-6-date-9.1.2023-Per-percaktimin-e-partive-politike-qe-do-te-caktojne-anetaret-dhe-sekretaret-e-KZAZ-ve.pdf. See CEC Decision, 12/01/2023 at: https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vendim-nr.-11-date-12.1.2023-Per-shpalljen-e-rezultatit-te-shortit-per-caktimin-e-partise-qe-do-te-propozoje-anetarin-e-7-te-te-KZAZ-ve.pdf.
[43] 217 DP members for CEAZ were appointed with one month delay on 10 March 2023. The CEC decision is available at: https://kqz.gov.al/document/decision-no-163-dated-10-03-2023-on-the-appointment-of-members-and-secretaries-of-the-commissions-of-electoral-administration-zones-proposed-by-the-democratic-party-of-albania-for-the-elections/?lang=en
[44] IEOM Statement of Preliminary findings and conclusions, Op.cit., page 6.
[45] According to Article 95.2 of the Electoral Code, one member is appointed by proposal of the party which puts forward the chairperson of that CEAZ, one member by the party which appointed the Deputy Chair, one member by the parties of the ruling majority and one member by the opposition parties.
[46] As no current census is available, this report refers to data from 2018. According to the Albanian National Diaspora Strategy 2021-2025, there were 1 584 137 Albanian citizens living abroad in 2018, predominantly younger citizens. If put in relation to the number of registered voters for the 2023 local elections, this amounts to over 43% of Albanian citizens living abroad. The Strategy is available at: https://diaspora.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STRATEGJIA-KOMBETARE-E-DIASPORES-2021-2025-ENG.pdf.
[47] This is at odds with international obligations on the universal and equal right to vote as elaborated in Section 4.2 of this report.
[48] This would appear to be in contravention with Article 6 of the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144), but Albania has filed a declaration in which it reserves the right not to apply this provision. The Convention is available at https://rm.coe.int/168007b4d5.
[49] See Part III, Chapter II of the Electoral Code.
[50] See CEC decision, 13/04/2023, available at https://kqz.gov.al/2023/04/13/2023-local-government-elections-ranking-of-electoral-subjects-and-candidates-for-mayor-in-ballot-determined/?lang=en.
[51] OSCE/ODIHR, Albania, Local Elections, 14 May 2023: Needs Assessment Mission Report, available at https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/albania/537511.
[52] Important leaks of registers and of more than 800 000 voters’ personal data and voting preferences happened in April 2021 two days prior to the general elections, allegedly by the Socialist Party. See also Balkan Insight, Albania Prosecutors Investigate Socialists’ Big-Brother-Style Database, 16/04/2021 available at https://balkaninsight.com/2021/04/16/albania-prosecutors-investigate-over-socialist-party-big-brother/.
[53] See the auditor reports at https://kqz.gov.al/raporte/.
[54] See Domestic Observation Coalition KRIIK Statement of Preliminary findings, available at https://kriik.al/home/2023/05/15/deklarata-e-gjetjeve-dhe-konkluzioneve-paraprake-15-maj-2023/.
[55] RTSH, PD accuses Rama and Çuç: Manipulations with voter lists have moved over 1 million Albanians to new addresses, 31/03/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/14-maji-pd-akuza-rames-dhe-cucit-manipulime-me-listat-e-zgjedhesve-kane-zhvendosur-mbi-1-mln-shqiptare-ne-adresa-te-reja.
[56] In line with the Convention on the participation of foreigners in public life at local level. Op. Cit.
[57] This applies to convictions for certain crimes even in the absence of a final decision as well as being under international search warrant or declared persona non grata in EU Member States, Australia, Canada or the USA. See Law on guaranteeing the integrity of persons who are elected, appointed or exercise public functions" also called the Decriminalisation Law available in Albanian at https://www.dap.gov.al/images/LegjislacioniAP/ligj_nr._138__dt._17.12.2015.pdf.
[58] Article 63 EC and Article 69 of the Constitution list categories of officials whose occupation is incompatible with the right to stand, unless they resign. These categories include high state administration officials, judges, prosecutors, military, national security and police officers, prefects, diplomats and members of election commissions.
[59] The 1990 Copenhagen Document, in paragraph 5.19 states the as well as the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters of the Venice Commission Op.cit.
[60] Special rules for independent also exist with regard to their right to appoint members of the election administration and appointment of observers on Election Day.
[61] The declarations are published online on the CEC website. See the CEC announcement of receipt of documentation for candidates by electoral subjects, available at https://kqz.gov.al/2021/03/09/cec-the-verification-of-the-self-declaration-forms-decriminalization-is-being-done-in-cooperation-with-general-directorate-of-the-civil-status-office-and-the-general-directorate-of-prisons/?lang=en.
[62] As of 4 April 2023, the CEC had handled 40 appeals regarding registration of political subjects, coalitions or lists.
[63] Both the BERISHA and the BASHA/ALIBEAJ branches of DP submitted applications to register as the DP. The BASHA/ALIBEAJ branch with Mr. ALIBEAJ as chair was recognised as the DP, a decision that the BERISHA branch appealed to the Electoral College at the Tirana Administrative Court, but to no avail. This situation has also led to confusion regarding the use of the party logo and name.
[64] The CEC Commissioner reported 29 breaches of electoral silence in traditional media, and the Albania Helsinki Committee regretted that many more breaches occurred online, due to the lack of regulation of the online media in Albania. See Albania Helsinki Committee Statement of findings, 15/05/2023, available at https://ahc.org.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Raport-i-ndermjetem-nr.2_Votimi_Numerimi_Heshtja-dhe-Krimet-Zgjedhore_15052023.pdf.
[65] The CEC has shown a narrow interpretation of the law in several instances, which lead to a certain ambiguity on how the electoral framework was to be applied to local elections. See on this matter, the Coalition for Reforms, Integration, and Consolidated Institutions (KRIIK), a domestic election observation organisation, Public Statement – The Electoral Process of May 14, 2023, a process of the citizens, for the citizens and only in the function of the citizens, 08/05/2023, available at https://kriik.al/home/2023/05/08/qendrim-publik-integriteti-dhe-cilesia-e-ofertes-elektorale-detyrim-moral-politik-e-ligjor-por-mbi-te-gjitha-respekt-ndaj-qytetarit-shqiptar-2/
[66] More than ten decisions were announced by the RAMA Government in March-April which included among others increase of salaries of civil servants, bonuses to pensioners, etc. See RTSH, RAMA’s promises for salary increases, CELIBASHI: There are bans only for the general elections, we will evaluate it, 30/03/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/premtimet-e-rames-per-rritje-pagash-celibashi-ka-ndalime-vetem-per-zgjedhjet-e-pergjithshme-do-ta-vleresojme.
[67] See IEOM Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, page 11.
[68] During the campaign, one candidate was murdered and another one was the target of a bomb but Congress interlocutors did not consider these events specifically related to the campaign. Some instances of tensions and physical confrontations were also recorded but were not widespread. See IEOM Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, page 9.
[69] See Balkan Insight, Athens Condemns Alleged Vote-Buying Arrest of Greek Politician in Albania, 12/05/2023, available at https://balkaninsight.com/2023/05/12/albanian-police-arrested-greek-candidate-mayor-in-himara/.
[70] See on that matter, Faktoje, 80% of mayoral candidates without an electoral program, 05/05/2023, available at: https://faktoje.al/80-e-kandidateve-per-kryebashkiake-pa-program-elektoral/
[71] On that matter, see the preliminary statement of the POP Network, a domestic NGO network working to increase public debate and information among citizens on electoral platforms of parties and candidates for mayors: POP Preliminary Statement, 19/05/2023, available at https://popnetwork.al/en/public-statement-of-the-juxtaposing-political-offers-network-related-to-the-local-elections-of-may-14th-2023/.
[72] See CEC Decision, 30/11/2022, at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Vendim_nr_-210_date_221130_-Per-caktimin-e-numrit-te-monitoruesve-per-zgjedhjet-per-organet-e-qeverisjes-vendore-te-dates-14-Maj-2023.pdf.
[73] See CEC Commissioner Decisions 452, 482 and 496 available at https://kqz.gov.al/akte-te-kqz-2/.
[74] All activities reported are available publicly on the CEC dedicated webpage at https://aktivitete.kqz.gov.al/category/aktivitetet-e-raportuara/.
[75] KRIIK noted that over 1600 events had been successfully reported to the CEC and they submitted 300 reports of violations to the CEC. In its preliminary statement KRIIK noted that the CEC had considerable success in raising the awareness of public institutions about the need to report and respect the reporting deadlines, but the type of behavior sanctioned and the amount of sanctions proved to be insufficient either to prevent the phenomenon or to curb it somewhat, as a result of a reading of narrowly of the law and focusing on its technical elements” See KRIIK Preliminary Statement, 15/05/2023, https://kriik.al/home/2023/05/15/deklarata-e-gjetjeve-dhe-konkluzioneve-paraprake-15-maj-2023/.
[76] See one exemplary CEC decision, available at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Vendim-nr.-59-date-17.2.2023-Per_shqyrtimin-administrativ-te-organeve-publike-periudha-3.2-9.2.2023.pdf.
[77] On this matter see press articles: FJALA, Rama does not back down : The municipality and the government will be one, 27/04/2023, https://fjala.al/2023/04/27/rama-nuk-terhiqet-bashkia-dhe-qeveria-do-te-jene-nje/ , VOX, "There is no cooperation with the mayors of the opposition", Rama for his statement: It is not pressure, they are puppets of the Meta-Berisha couple”, 26/04/2023 at https://www.voxnews.al/english/politike/nuk-ka-bashkepunim-me-kryebashkiaket-e-opozites-rama-per-deklaraten-e-t-i38255 and RTSH “Rama returns to the campaign: On May 14, let's remove the "appendicitis" with two heads! If you vote for the "gamor" with long ears, there is no support from the government”, 22/04/2023, available at: https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/rama-i-rikthehet-fushates-me-14-maj-te-heqim-apendicitin-me-dy-koka-nese-votoni-gamorin-me-veshe-te-gjata-s-ka-mbeshtetje-nga-qeveria
[78] Information based on a letter from the CEC of 6 June 2023 (on file with the Secretariat of the Congress).
[79] Law on Political Parties, as amended in 2020, available in Albanian at https://kqz-gov-al.webpkgcache.com/doc/-/s/kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Ligji-per-partite-politike-2020_1.pdf.
[80] As a result, the Socialist Party received ALL 151.5M (43%), the Democratic Party received ALL 105M (30%) and the SMI (now Freedom Party) ALL 15.5M (4.5%). Eight other smaller parties received limited public funding. See CEC decision, 12/04/2023 available at https://kqz.gov.al/2023/04/12/shperndahen-fondet-vjetore-partive-politike-ne-formen-e-ndihmes-financiare-per-vitin-2023/.
[81]. The calculation made by the CEC is based on Article 180 of the Electoral Code (transitional clauses). The CEC released a total of ALL 97 Million on 22 April. See CEC decision, 22/04/2023, https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Vendimin-nr.-397-date-22.4.2023_Per-shperndarjen-e-fondeve-per-fushaten-zgjedhore-2023-1.pdf.
[82] See CEC Electronic Platform on Financial Reporting – increasing the transparency and accountability of political parties and electoral campaigns in Albania, 05/04/2023, CoE Tirana website, available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/tirana/-/central-election-commission-electronic-platform-on-financial-reporting-increasing-the-transparency-and-accountability-of-political-parties-and-electoral-campaigns-in-albania.
[83] On 7 April 2023, the Regulatory Commission of the CEC adopted the rules for financial reporting for the election campaign 2023, see CEC decision 07/04/2023, available at https://kqz.gov.al/2023/04/07/zgjedhjet-vendore-2023-miratohen-rregullat-e-raportimit-financiar-te-partive-politike-subjekteve-zgjedhore/.
[84] This rating is also due to the anti-defamation package introduced in 2018 by the RAMA Government which aimed at regulating online media by establishing an administrative body competent to judge media content for matters of dignity of citizens and privacy. Due to strong criticism from the civil society and the Venice Commission for chilling effect, the law was withdrawn in October 2022. https://rsf.org/en/albania.
[85] In 2017, 79% of the respondents surveyed indicated that TV was their main source of information, see https://albania.mom-gmr.org/en/media/tv/.
[86] The public media outlet RTSH is not funded by a special tax, but directly by the Government, which can pose a challenge to its editorial independence. In addition, in June 2022, the former Director of RTSH was condemned to two years in prison for breaches of public procurement procedures. See EU 2022 Albania report, Op.cit. Accordingly, a new director of RTSH was elected in 2021, however, he resigned on 13 April 2023 as he was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Defence by the Council of Ministers of Albania, see Albania Daily News, Ex-RTSH Director Appointed Deputy Minister of Defence, 13/04/2023, at https://albaniandailynews.com/news/ex-rthsh-director-appointed-deputy-minister-of-defense-1.
[87] See for more details on disinformation in Albania, European Parliament Policy Study, Mapping Fake News and Disinformation in the Western Balkans and Identifying Ways to Effectively Counter Them (2020), available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/653621/EXPO_STU(2020)653621_EN.pdf.
[88] See EU 2022 Albania report, Op.cit.
[89] See on this matter, the report on the fact-finding mission to Tirana, carried out on 17 and 18 November 2022, by the partners of the Council of Europe’s Platform on Safety of Journalists, available at https://www.article19.org/resources/albania-media-freedom-in-decline/.
[90] For instance, Sali BERISHA accused Mayor of Tirana Erion VELIAJ of collusion with the Islamic Republic of Iran, using photos of a different person. See Euronews, Berisha to be forcibly brought to court for slander, announces Mayor of Tirana, 6/05/2023, available at https://euronews.al/en/berisha-to-be-forcibly-brought-to-court-for-slander-announces-mayor-of-tirana/.
[91] The safety of journalists remains an issue, with some reports of journalists being arrested, beaten or prevented to conduct interviews or film an intervention of the police or of politicians. These attacks are not often prosecuted. See the CoE Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, available at https://fom.coe.int/en/pays/detail/11709474 and Exit Albania, 06/02/2020, available at https://exit.al/en/2020/02/06/summary-of-insults-used-by-albanian-prime-minister-edi-rama-against-journalists-and-media/.
[92] European Parliament Policy Study, 2020, Op.cit.
[93] See UNDP Survey (2020), Op.cit.
[94] Accordingly, 50 minutes broadcasting time for the coverage of the election campaign on public television and 30 minutes on public radio was allocated to SP and DP, 25 minutes on public television and 15 minutes on public radio to eight parliamentary parties. 37 non-parliamentary parties were given 10 minutes on public television and 10 minutes on public radio. Independent candidates were allowed five minutes on each outlet See CEC decision, 13/04/2023, available at https://kqz.gov.al/2023/04/13/2023-local-government-elections-ranking-of-electoral-subjects-and-candidates-for-mayor-in-ballot-determined/?lang=en.
[95] See declaration of the Albanian Helsinki Committee, 04/04/2023, available athttps://ahc.org.al/subjektet-zgjedhore-te-mos-kufizojne-mbulimin-mediatik-per-zgjedhjet-e-qeverisjes-vendore-te-dt-14-maj-2023-ne-respekt-te-pavaresise-editoriale-te-mediave/.
[96] Report on the fact-finding mission to Tirana, Op.cit.
[97] See AMA final report to the CEC on the media monitoring from 14 April to 12 May, available at https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/VENDIMI_AMA_6-14-MAJ.pdf. These findings also reflect the findings of the independent media monitoring by KRIIK, available at: https://kriik.al/home/mbulimi-mediatik-i-subjekteve-zgjedhore-gjate-fushates/ . The ODIHR media monitoring findings note an even bigger representation of both SP and the Coalition “Together We Win”, especially the SP on RTSH (43%). See IEOM Statement of Preliminary findings and conclusions, page 14.
[98] See CEC Commissioner Decisions 451, 479 and 425 available at https://kqz.gov.al/akte-te-kqz-2/
[99] See RTSH, New instruction - Mayors are prohibited from campaigning on their official profiles on social networks, 30/03/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/14-maji-udhezimi-i-ri-kryebashkiakeve-u-ndalohet-fushata-ne-profilet-zyrtare-ne-rrjetet-sociale.
[100] See data on women participation at: https://data.unwomen.org/country/albania.
[101] The Law on Gender Equality in Society is available in Albanian only at https://www.mod.gov.al/images/PDF/barazia_gjinore_shoqeri.pdf.
[102] Preliminary figures communicated by the CEC to the Congress on 7 June 2023.
[103] The opposition often decries the manipulation of appointment of women by the SP Government as a way to please international partners. See two different opinions on this at https://balkaninsight.com/2021/09/21/debate-on-women-ministers-has-revealed-albanias-sexist-mindset/ and https://balkaninsight.com/2021/09/16/rama-cynically-plays-gender-card-with-women-majority-cabinet/.
[104] Albania, ODIHR Needs Assessment Report (2023). Op.cit.
[105] “31.05% of respondents (n = 95) reported that they have experienced degrading talk or false rumors concerning their political role. Political candidates were mainly targeted by supporters of other parties (57.45%), digital and social media (50%), and leaders of other parties (44.68%). Degrading talk or false rumors mainly targeted gender (23.40%), age (21.28%), social status (21.28%), and economic status (17.02%).” UNDP Report, Violence Against Women in Politics, April 2022, Violence Against Women in Politics | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org). See also the 2021 report by the Observatory for Children and Youth Rights on “Violence against women during elections (VAWE) and gender bias in media coverage of the 2021 elections in Albania” available at https://albania.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/06/violence-against-women-during-elections-vawe-and-gender-bias-in-media-coverage-of-the-2021-elections-in-albania.
[106] A new strategy on gender equality 2021-2030 was adopted in June 2021, which contains the goal of “ensuring the equal participation, representation, and leadership rights of women and men, young women and men, girls and boys in all their diversity in political and public decision-making at the local level”. See the Strategy at https://albania.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/02/national-strategy-for-gender-equality-2021-2030.
[107] IEOM Statement of Preliminary findings, page 10.
[108] During the 2021 pilot, the OSCE/ODIHR noted that the system procured met the legal and technical objectives set in the relevant regulations and that many interlocutors lauded it. However, the limited period available before election day forced the CEC to heavily rely on the vendor for software configuration, central training, technical field support, hotlines, and logistics. See ODIHR Report on the 2021 Parliamentary elections, available at https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/albania/478999.
[109] The procedural rules for e-voting and counting were approved by the CEC Regulator on 13 April 2023, see CEC decision, 13/04/2023, available at https://kqz.gov.al/2023/04/13/zgjedhjet-vendore-2023-percaktohen-rregullat-per-votimin-dhe-numerimin-elektronik-qe-do-te-realizohet-ne-bashkite-elbasan-kamez-dhe-vore/.
[110] Information based on a letter from the CEC of 6 June 2023 (on file with the Secretariat of the Congress).
[111] In accordance with Article 22.7 of the Electoral Code, the CEC, in public sessions and according to a detailed procedure, will have to carry out the verification of information technology systems or equipment used to vote and count ballots in elections after publication of the final results by manually counting the ballots in no less than 10% of voting centres and comparing the result to the result produced by the information technology systems or equipment.
[112] On Election Day, the CEC Commissioner announced the launch of an investigation on the sources of malfunctions and decided to allow VCC members to proceed with the manual register. See KRIIK statement, “Political actors need to take responsibility for what they offered to Albanian citizens in these elections, as well as clearly express their will to respect the Law and the Institutions”, 17/05/2023, available at https://kriik.al/home/2023/05/17/aktoret-politike-nevojitet-te-marrin-pergjegjesi-mbi-cka-u-ofruan-qytetareve-shqiptare-ne-keto-zgjedhje-si-dhe-te-shprehin-qartazi-vullnetin-e-tyre-per-respektimin-e-ligjit-dhe-te-institucioneve/ and Albania Helsinki Committee Statement of findings, 15/05/2023, Op.cit.
[113] See IEOM Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, page 6. This practice is not in line with the Council of Europe Guidelines on the implementation of the provisions of Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on standards of e-voting.
[114] See IEOM Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, page 15.
[115] For a full list of the cases per region and per motive, see website of the General Prosecutor of Albania: https://www.pp.gov.al/Media/Njoftime_per_Shtyp/Informacion_mbi_veprat_penale_ne_fushen_e_zgjedhjeve.html.
[116] Congress delegation members assessed the conduct of elections based on a standardised election day questionnaire distributed by OSCE/ODIHR, which was filled out for every observation by Congress teams. The questionnaire covered all areas and aspects of the election day from the conduct of opening, voting, counting and closing procedures and include questions on the persons present in the polling station, the atmosphere outside and inside the polling station, election material, transparency, potential irregularities, official complaints and a general assessment.
[117] CEC decision n°62 taken on 3 May 2023 banned gathering of people within 150 meters of voting centres.
[118] “On Election Day, the CEC received 44 denunciations, mostly regarding irregularities during voting, including vote buying, voter intimidation and group voting. The State Police reported that it had identified five electoral crimes and that one citizen had been arrested while eight were being prosecuted at large”, IEOM Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, page 17.
[119] Domestic observers of the Albania Helsinki Committee also recorded cases of misuse of assisted voting in Elbasan. They regretted the overall lack of VCC members’ awareness of the rules applicable to assisted voting and questioned the quality of the training on this issue. See AHC, Preliminary Statement, 15 May 2023, Op.cit.
[120] Preliminary data shared by the OSCE/ODIHR while counting procedures were still ongoing.
[121] Results as reported on the website of the CEC, at https://iemis.kqz.gov.al/results2023/results2023.htm# consulted on 14 June 2023.
[122] It appears to be the case in 14 municipalities (number of political subjects represented in the newly elected local council): Kurbin (14), Lezhë (14), Sarandë (11), Mirditë (11), Selenicë (9), Gramsh (11), Fushë-Arrëz (9), Klos (14), Tropojë (14), Has (13), Krujë (9), Kukës (18), Pukë (10) and Këlcyrë (13).
[123] As stated above, in Himarë, Fredi BELERI from the Coalition “Together We Win” was arrested two days before the Election Day but was elected. He has now appealed his imprisonment to the Constitutional Court of Albania. See Euronews Albania, European Commission breaks silence on Fredi BELERI’S arrest and imprisonment, 27/05/2023, available at https://euronews.al/en/european-commission-breaks-silence-on-imprisonment-of-fredi-beleri/ and RTSH, Left in prison for buying votes, Fredi BELERI seeks freedom in the Supreme Court, 14/06/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/u-la-ne-burg-per-blerje-votash-fredi-beleri-kerkon-lirine-ne-gjykaten-e-larte.
[124] Information based on a letter from the CEC of 6 June 2023 (on file with the Secretariat of the Congress).
[125] Article 112 of the Code of Administrative Procedures establishes that public bodies can correct inaccuracies and calculation errors. Accordingly, the CEC Commissioner corrected spelling and counting mistakes, when they did not require additional verifications.
[126] For instance, on 9 June 2023, the Commissioner decided to carry out an in-depth verification of the data declared in the self-declaration decriminalisation form of Mr Miftar DAUTI, elected Mayor of Has, at the request of the Coalition "Together We Win", and to send the data to the General Prosecutor's Office for further evaluation.
[127] See KRIIK Public Statement, 02/06/2023, https://kriik.al/home/en/2023/06/02/the-proactive-approach-of-the-central-election-commission-in-the-identification-and-denunciation-of-electoral-crime-essential-for-ensuring-the-integrity-of-elections-and-law-enforcement-in-the-countr/.
[128] See RTSH, May 14/ The Electoral College decides to repeat the elections in Rrogozhinë, 15/06/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/14-maji-kolegji-zgjedhor-vendos-perseritjen-e-zgjedhjeve-ne-rrogozhine.
[129] See Balkan Insight, Albania Mayor Resigns Over Sex Tape Scandal, 16/06/2023, https://balkaninsight.com/2023/06/16/albania-mayor-resignes-over-sex-tape-scandal/.
[130] See VOX, Berisha calls for civil disobedience: Let's face the regime!, 12/06/2023, available at https://www.voxnews.al/english/politike/berisha-ben-thirrje-per-mosbindje-civile-te-perballemi-me-regjimin-i41989.
[131] See RTSH, College of Presidents of DP: The process for the election of the president should be completed by July 15! Any delay, to the detriment of the party, 06/06/2023 available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/kolegji-i-kryetareve-te-pd-procesi-per-zgjedhjen-e-kryetarit-te-perfundoje-deri-me-15-korrik-cdo-vonese-ne-dem-te-partise.
[132] See RTSH, Basha submits the request for the head of the DP, in the race against Gjergj HANI, 20/06/2023, available at https://lajme.rtsh.al/artikull/basha-depoziton-kerkesen-per-kreun-e-pd-se-ne-gare-perballe-gjergj-hanit.