Head of OSCE Presence in Albania welcomes Central Election Commission’s move to fill in vacancies in electoral commissions

TIRANA, 21 February 2011 - The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, today welcomed the decision of the Central Election Commission to announce vacancies in the Commissions of Electoral Administration Zones (CEAZs) in an effort to bring forward preparations for the 8 May local government elections.

“The public announcement of the vacancies in the CEAZs to be filled soon is an important and decisive step guaranteeing full transparency of the election process vis-à-vis citizens,” Ambassador Wollfarth said. “I welcome this step and note that it only became necessary after some parties' refusal to participate in democratic procedures according to rules they had co-authored and decided themselves.”

According to the Electoral Code, the political parties should have proposed their candidates for commissioners by 24 January and the CEAZs should have been established by 7 February 2011.

Ambassador Wollfarth reiterated the readiness of the OSCE Presence to support the Albanian institutions in the upcoming elections.