Albania's president appeals for free elections, without misuse

This meeting was attended by representatives of the US Embassy, the EU office and O mission chairman SBE/ The ODIHR, Audrey Glover, took place the day before the opening of the campaign for local elections to be held in Albania on May 14th.

“Political parties should only offer offers. Previous experiences have not only dealt with negative phenomena and illegal forms as part of the election campaign, and institutions have not always responded successfully”, Begaj said.

He added that “fenomies of sale and sale of votes, misuse of financial resources, non-transparent financing, and the destruction of the election process are unattended”.

The police must react to any phenomenon that might affect the election process. Monitorers and commissionors must work impartiality”, he said further.

President Begaj called on representatives of political parties not to use denigrative languages towards each other during the election campaign and to submit ideas and programmes that really improve the lives of citizens.

The head of the Albanian state also called for citizens with the right to vote, urging them to express their free will and to denounce any cases of blackmail or instigation.

Two days ago, US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar visited Tirana and met with institutional leaders. He met with President Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka, while also holding meetings with opposition representatives Enkeleed Alibeaj and Ilir Meta.

The American Embassy in Albania said Escobar's call for leaders has been for” to ensure that candidates meet the requirements of the law and meet the expectations of Albanian citizens for high integrity”.

US Ambassador to Tirana Yuri Kim made similar calls days ago.

But despite these calls, the Central Election Commission, which has verified candidates for 61 municipalities and candidates for municipal councils, has found that for 34 candidates, there are doubts about “the cleansing of image”. Out of 34 candidates, ten are for mayor and half of them belong to the Socialist Party.

Chief Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi said that for these candidates, there are suspicions that they may have violated the derimination form, and for that reason they will be verified by the Prosecutor.

The Socialist Party and the <x0-Basca coalition we win”, in which the Ilir Meta Freedom Party and a group of democratic deputies led by Sali Berisha dealt with candidates in the country's 61 municipalities.

The Democratic Party has come out with candidates in only 15 municipalities, as no compromise has been reached that two groups within the Democratic Party come out with common candidates.

The deep split in the DP was created in May 2021, when the US declared former Prime Minister Berisha an unwanted person. This resulted in the creation of parallel structures within the largest opposition party and even violent protests.

Proposed and supported candidates by Sali Berisha will not compete under the DP's logo, but the coalition's “Basca wins”, which is headed by Ilir Meta's leftist party, Freedom Party. Currently almost all of the country's municipalities are headed by the Socialist Party, because the opposition boycotted the 2019 local elections.