May 8 elections will be monitored by more than 5355 observers, who have been accredited close to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The number of local observers reaches to 4700, and a delegation of 62 persons from the US Embassy, among whom even the US Ambassador to Albania, Alexander Arvizu, will be part of the May 8 observers.

“CEC accredited 5300 observers, 500 of whom come from OSCE, 63 of them come from the US embassy in Tirana, and his Excellency, Arvizu, is one of them,” said CEC spokesman, Arti Lushi.

In another debate among the members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), was the accreditation of the media as an observer. By interpreting article 6 of the Electoral Code, Vice Chairman of CEC, Deshira Subashi said that media have the right to be accredited.

Meanwhile, representative of the DP, Njazi Kosovrasti, interprets point one of article 21 in the Electoral Code, where media have the right to be in the voting centers and in the counting centers, but not as observers; they can only register the process without creating any obstacle.

“If they would ask to be accredited as observers in the voting centers, or in the Zonal Election Commissions, the status of the observer is something different; obligations that come during the process and the conditions they should fulfill to be recognized as such. The media should ask this right not as an observer, but as representative of the media,” said Kosovrasti.

Five days before the May 8 elections, signs of tension have been noticed even in the members of CEC. Vice Chairman of CEC, Deshira Subashi, did not listen to the speech on the counting centers of the DP representative until the end; she left the meeting 5 minutes before its end.

“Of course, the members have the right to stay or to leave. They left the meetings for 3 months in a row, so there is nothing wrong if they leave 5 minutes earlier,” said Kosovrasti.