After last Friday’s meeting did not take place, the OSCE/ODIHR has another reaction to the Electoral Reform Commission in the country. Through an announcement on the official website, parties are invited to commit to open consultations in the coming months.
The director of the mission, Matteo Mecacci, also emphasizes that this reform is vital for the electoral process and as such requires the setting of objectives and the implementation of recommendations by the political forces.
“The initiative of the Albanian authorities to restart the electoral reform in the country before the 2025 parliamentary elections is an important and positive development in a process that has already served as an example of good practice for the region and beyond. We welcome the decision of the Albanian authorities to renew their commitment to these vital reforms so far ahead of the elections. We urge all parties to commit to open and inclusive consultations in the coming months, ensuring that the resulting reforms improve the electoral process for the benefit of all Albanians. It is of crucial importance to set practical and realistically achievable targets that focus on implementing the ODIHR’s previous recommendations and addressing the shortcomings noted during the past elections, in line with international standards. The main priorities include preventing the misuse of public resources and vote buying, ensuring the secrecy of the vote, protecting the freedom of the media and increasing the effectiveness of the election administration.
Following recent discussions on this topic, ODIHR has received an invitation from the Albanian parliament to support the national authorities and has provided support and technical expertise to advance the reform process. ODIHR’s long-term election observation methodology includes an assessment of the implementation of previous recommendations. ODIHR’s most recent monitoring mission to Albania in 2023 assessed the follow-up of the Office’s recommendations following the 2019 local elections and the 2021 parliamentary elections. The reports concluded that three recommendations had been fully implemented, seven largely and 16 implemented in part, while others still remain to be addressed,” the official announcement said.
It is planned that this important commission will meet again on January 26 at 10:00, where 3 main points will be discussed, from the resumption of work to the review of the calendar.