Head of OSCE Presence in Albania calls on political parties to respect Electoral Code and to nominate election commissioners

TIRANA, 8 February 2011 - The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, urged Albanian political parties today to urgently deliver the required nominations for members of the Electoral Administration Zone Commissions to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) in order to properly prepare for local government elections.

He stressed that based on the existing Electoral Code and on the decree of the President of the Republic, the CEC had to proceed urgently with all the necessary preparations for the elections scheduled for 8 May 2011. He noted that all Albanian political parties failed to meet the official 24 January 2011 deadline to send in nominations for all elections commissioners.

"I am extremely concerned about the problems the CEC is currently facing. Only 12 of the 66 Commissions of Electoral Administration Zones have been constituted in part by the 7 February 2011 deadline,” Wollfarth said. “Such a situation shows a blatant disregard for the democratic aspirations of Albanian citizens by political parties. I call upon political parties involved to respect citizens' right to vote and to address this issue immediately as the election day is approaching.”