Newsroom
Albanian municipal elections a vital issue for every citizen
TIRANA 29 September 2000
TIRANA, 29 September 2000 - The following statement on the upcoming 1 October municipal elections was released today by the OSCE Presence in Albania:
These elections, and the way in which they are conducted, are of vital concern to every citizen of Albania. They affect the future of the country in a real and immediate sense and it is essential that they be conducted in a calm and peaceful manner. As everybody knows, these are local elections. They give every voter the chance to choose the candidate they think will do the best job for them. The ballot empowers the individual, as much as the party. Our message is: "This is your vote. Make sure you use it."
These are Albania's elections. We are confident they will represent a turning point, away from the path of confrontation, and onto the solid road of democratization, of political consensus and of economic progress, investment and jobs. It is the duty of every Albanian to contribute to their success. With each vote, Albania will be laying the foundations for a better future. We also appeal to all political parties and all candidates to accept the results of the elections which are the decision of the voters.
The operating principle for these elections is that of one man, one vote. Everything has been done to ensure that every person who is entitled to vote, has the opportunity to do so. As you know, the verification period for the voter list was extended for this reason. Work on the national voter register is a continuous process, aimed at creating a comprehensive and transparent database, to be accessed for electoral purposes at any time.
At this final stage in the electoral preparations, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will be distributing voter lists to all voting centres throughout the country. The voter list will comprise of two parts; the first containing confirmed voters and the second, other individuals whose precise location for voting is unconfirmed. This is necessary in order to guarantee that all voters are included and we are aware of the fact that the establishment of the overall number of voters is complex, given the inclusion of unconfirmed voters. However, in principle, the eventual total will include all names remaining on the list after the outstanding unconfirmed voters have been found.
The OSCE Presence particularly welcomes the arrangements that have been made by the Albanian authorities to enable every eligible citizen to vote, who arrives at the polling station on election day with valid identification documents and whose name appears on either list. This is commended as being in line with prescribed international standards for elections. We appeal to all election officials at voting centres to be flexible in identifying voters.
We commend the Central Election Commission and the two major parties for agreeing to a general 50:50 sharing of the chairmanships in the Voting Centre Commissions. This willingness to co-operate at local level indicates a level of political maturity which is deserving of recognition. However, this arrangement has not been fully implemented everywhere and we would like to take this opportunity to urge that any outstanding disparity between the two parties be identified and redressed as a matter of urgency.
Finally, we welcome the resolution of the problem to de-conflict the two final party rallies in Tirana today. In finding a solution we would like to commend the decision by the Socialist Party to bring their event forward during the day.
For information, contact Press and Public Information, Rruga Donika Kastrioti, Villa 6, Tirana, Albania, http: www.osce.org/albania/index.htm, [email protected], telephone: ++355 42 35993 ext. 153, 123, 132; Telefax: ++355 42 35994 / 40001
These elections, and the way in which they are conducted, are of vital concern to every citizen of Albania. They affect the future of the country in a real and immediate sense and it is essential that they be conducted in a calm and peaceful manner. As everybody knows, these are local elections. They give every voter the chance to choose the candidate they think will do the best job for them. The ballot empowers the individual, as much as the party. Our message is: "This is your vote. Make sure you use it."
These are Albania's elections. We are confident they will represent a turning point, away from the path of confrontation, and onto the solid road of democratization, of political consensus and of economic progress, investment and jobs. It is the duty of every Albanian to contribute to their success. With each vote, Albania will be laying the foundations for a better future. We also appeal to all political parties and all candidates to accept the results of the elections which are the decision of the voters.
The operating principle for these elections is that of one man, one vote. Everything has been done to ensure that every person who is entitled to vote, has the opportunity to do so. As you know, the verification period for the voter list was extended for this reason. Work on the national voter register is a continuous process, aimed at creating a comprehensive and transparent database, to be accessed for electoral purposes at any time.
At this final stage in the electoral preparations, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will be distributing voter lists to all voting centres throughout the country. The voter list will comprise of two parts; the first containing confirmed voters and the second, other individuals whose precise location for voting is unconfirmed. This is necessary in order to guarantee that all voters are included and we are aware of the fact that the establishment of the overall number of voters is complex, given the inclusion of unconfirmed voters. However, in principle, the eventual total will include all names remaining on the list after the outstanding unconfirmed voters have been found.
The OSCE Presence particularly welcomes the arrangements that have been made by the Albanian authorities to enable every eligible citizen to vote, who arrives at the polling station on election day with valid identification documents and whose name appears on either list. This is commended as being in line with prescribed international standards for elections. We appeal to all election officials at voting centres to be flexible in identifying voters.
We commend the Central Election Commission and the two major parties for agreeing to a general 50:50 sharing of the chairmanships in the Voting Centre Commissions. This willingness to co-operate at local level indicates a level of political maturity which is deserving of recognition. However, this arrangement has not been fully implemented everywhere and we would like to take this opportunity to urge that any outstanding disparity between the two parties be identified and redressed as a matter of urgency.
Finally, we welcome the resolution of the problem to de-conflict the two final party rallies in Tirana today. In finding a solution we would like to commend the decision by the Socialist Party to bring their event forward during the day.
For information, contact Press and Public Information, Rruga Donika Kastrioti, Villa 6, Tirana, Albania, http: www.osce.org/albania/index.htm, [email protected], telephone: ++355 42 35993 ext. 153, 123, 132; Telefax: ++355 42 35994 / 40001