
Audrey Glover, the head of the OSCE-ODIHR mission in Albania, in the presentation of the preliminary report of the May 14 local elections in our country, said that the political leaders made strong verbal attacks.
According to her, the campaign was mostly quiet, while the candidates did not confront each other but used social networks.
Audrey Glover : “ The campaign started on April 14 and was dominated by party leaders with little regard for the interests of the voters. 40% of potential voters live abroad.
There are 92 KZAZ and 5212 KQV. The creation of these commissions was problematic due to non-fulfillment by the parties.
The campaign has been largely peaceful although there were strong verbal attacks from party leaders which were often severe. The campaign has been relatively quiet.
The candidates did not hold debates with each other but used social networks.
The association of the media with the main political parties causes direct interference in editorial autonomy. The use of images prepared by parties is worrisome because it results in political advertising. There have been attacks on journalists and defamation is still a punishable crime. The media did not report on the elections.
We are also studying electronic voting. Our biggest concern is to what extent pressure has been put on the employees in the public administration". The final OSCE-ODIHR report will be released in a few months along with recommendations.