Full engagement of women, national minorities and persons with disabilities crucial to ensure democratic elections, say participants of OSCE conference in Tirana
Increasing the participation of women, national minorities and persons with disabilities at all stages of the electoral process is the focus of a conference taking place in Tirana on 21 and 22 January 2020.
Key topics addressed are challenges and obstacles to the inclusion of these groups in electoral processes and ways to overcome them, based on good practices and lessons learned in the region and elsewhere. “As a representative of civil society, I hope that the electoral reform in Albania is successfully completed, without wasting time, and taking into account all the recommendations given over the years by various civil society actors and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),” said Mirela Arqimandriti, Chair of the Board of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections and for Sustainable Democracy. “As a feminist, I think that electoral reform should allow equal electoral opportunities for women and men and provide for full representation of young people, minorities and persons with disabilities. Its timely approval would enable all actors to take necessary measures to ensure elections in the service of Albanian citizens.”
The conference will pay special attention to the role of media in ensuring the coverage of women, national minorities and persons with disabilities during election campaigns.
Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Bernd Borchardt, said: “There is a simple truth, also in other sectors: If you want to stop corruption, you should stop being corrupt. The current legislation could produce adequate elections and credible results. The OSCE/ODIHR has underlined that in several reports. It has not, because corrupt things are done while the perpetrators know that the system cannot or does not punish them enough. You can keep trying to change the system, but it would be better to change the behaviour. That is a precondition for everything to work.”
The event brings together 50 participants (26 men and 24 women), including activists and members of civil society organizations, representatives of Albania’s Central Election Commission, various ministries, the public broadcaster, media regulator and journalist associations, as well as parliamentarians, academics and international experts.
The conference was organized by ODIHR and the OSCE Presence in Albania as part of the ODIHR project “Support to Elections in the Western Balkans” funded by the European Union and the Austrian Development Agency.