ODIHR Director: forthcoming elections vital to democratic development of Albania
(Joana Karapataqi/OSCE)An Albanian voter casting her ballot during the local government elections held on 12 October 2003. (Joana Karapataqi/OSCE) Photo details
TIRANA, 13 April 2005 - The forthcoming elections in Albania are an important step in the democratic development of the country and political parties must work together to realize this, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said today at the end of a visit to Tirana.
"Following a consensual electoral reform, the parties now need to work together to hold elections which would comply with OSCE commitments and international standards," said ODIHR Director Christian Strohal. "All stakeholders, politicians and officials alike share the responsibility to fully implement the election legislation in order to reach this objective."
During his two-day visit, Ambassador Strohal met President Alfred Moisiu, Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Foreign Minister Kastriot Islami, members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), as well as cabinet ministers, representatives of political parties and representatives of the international community.
The ODIHR Director headed a delegation to assess the needs for an Election Observation Mission to be in place for parliamentary elections. The size and scope of it will be decided once the Government of Albania issues an invitation to observe the elections.
Ambassador Strohal also pointed out the crucial role the CEC will play, saying: "Its members carry a heavy responsibility for the electoral process. Despite being nominated by parties, their duty is to work in strict accordance with the Albanian legislation and to put professionalism over party affiliation."
The ODIHR Director welcomed the work of the parliamentary ad hoc committee on the implementation of electoral legislation. This group intends to carry out spot-checks on the accuracy of the preliminary voter lists in six major municipalities of Albania.
Ambassador Strohal stressed the importance of the preliminary lists being open and transparent. He urged the public to check the voter lists, which will be posted for public scrutiny until 3 May.
"Compilation of accurate voter lists is a responsibility of local government authorities, but it is the responsibility of each citizen to make sure that they are registered to vote in the right polling station," said Ambassador Strohal.
"Following a consensual electoral reform, the parties now need to work together to hold elections which would comply with OSCE commitments and international standards," said ODIHR Director Christian Strohal. "All stakeholders, politicians and officials alike share the responsibility to fully implement the election legislation in order to reach this objective."
During his two-day visit, Ambassador Strohal met President Alfred Moisiu, Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Foreign Minister Kastriot Islami, members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), as well as cabinet ministers, representatives of political parties and representatives of the international community.
The ODIHR Director headed a delegation to assess the needs for an Election Observation Mission to be in place for parliamentary elections. The size and scope of it will be decided once the Government of Albania issues an invitation to observe the elections.
Ambassador Strohal also pointed out the crucial role the CEC will play, saying: "Its members carry a heavy responsibility for the electoral process. Despite being nominated by parties, their duty is to work in strict accordance with the Albanian legislation and to put professionalism over party affiliation."
The ODIHR Director welcomed the work of the parliamentary ad hoc committee on the implementation of electoral legislation. This group intends to carry out spot-checks on the accuracy of the preliminary voter lists in six major municipalities of Albania.
Ambassador Strohal stressed the importance of the preliminary lists being open and transparent. He urged the public to check the voter lists, which will be posted for public scrutiny until 3 May.
"Compilation of accurate voter lists is a responsibility of local government authorities, but it is the responsibility of each citizen to make sure that they are registered to vote in the right polling station," said Ambassador Strohal.