OSCE/ODIHR gave to the Albanian politicians 27 new recommendations, which should be implemented before the next parliamentary elections.

On Monday afternoon, August 16, nearly 3 months after the local elections of May 8, OSCE/ODIHR published its final report. The report defined the voting and counting processes as transparent in the 12 districts of the country; it continued by saying that the counting process in Tirana was slow.

The electoral race of May 8 was defined as competitive in this report. It also reflected the political polarization that preceded the local elections, which was characterized by the parliamentary boycott and the anti-governmental demonstrations. The report states that the courts in Albania supported the decisions of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

OSCE Ambassador to Tirana, Eugen Wollfarth said that the Albanian politicians should work together in order to fulfill the 27 recommendations of the final report on May 8 elections.

“The report gives clear recommendations on the steps that the Albanian politics should follow in the next elections. On May 8, we noticed a calm electoral day, but the process that followed it was a complex one. There are 27 recommendations and the Albanian politics should collaborate in order to serve the country’s interests,” said Wollfarth.

In the new recommendations, OSCE/ODIHR asks a new formula in the composition of CEC’s structure, so they can return faith in the independence of this institution.

In the same way, ODIHR suggests the changing of the Electoral Code in the part that deals with the validity of the ballot papers that were thrown in the wrong ballot boxes, including the procedures followed for the ballot papers in the tables of results and the procedures that should be followed in cases of inconsistency between the number of votes and the number of voters.