ALBANIA: ELECTIONS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT OCTOBER Report by Ivar Skoglund

Transcription

1 ALBANIA: ELECTIONS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT OCTOBER 2003 Report by Ivar Skoglund NORDEM Report 05/2004

2 Copyright: the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights/NORDEM and Ivar Skoglund. NORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, is a programme of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), and has as its main objective to actively promote international human rights. NORDEM is jointly administered by NCHR and the Norwegian Refugee Council. NORDEM works mainly in relation to multilateral institutions. The operative mandate of the programme is realised primarily through the recruitment and deployment of qualified Norwegian personnel to international assignments, which promote democratisation and respect for human rights. The programme is responsible for the training of personnel before deployment, reporting on completed assignments, and plays a role in research related to areas of active involvement. The vast majority of assignments are channelled through the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NORDEM Report is a series of reports documenting NORDEM activities and is published jointly by NORDEM and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Series editor: Gry Kval Series consultants: Hege Mørk, Ingrid Kvammen Ekker, Christian Boe Astrup The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher(s). ISSN: ISBN: NORDEM Report is available online at:

3 Preface Local elections were held in Albania on 12 October 2003 in all municipalities and communes. The elections were monitored by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) upon an invitation from the authorities in Albania. The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation (EOM) was established on 9 September 2003 and was headed by Ambassador Robert Barry from the USA. The EOM s core staff consisted of 11 election experts, In addition, 18 long-term observers (LTOs) were recruited from the following OSCE participating states: Armenia (1), Belarus (1), Denmark (1), Finland (1), Germany (2), Greece (2), Italy (1), Norway (1), Slovakia (1), Spain (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland (2), United Kingdom (1) and USA (2). 230 short-term observers (STOs) from 34 OSCE participating conducted observation on Election day 12 October. Among these were also embassy personnel from the participating states embassies in Albania. On Election day the international observers visited more than 1000 polling stations. One long-term observer, Ivar Skoglund, was recruited to the mission by NORDEM. He was deployed to the region of Vlora. In addition, NORDEM recruited two shortterm observers to observe prior to and on Election day. They were Kris Ann Riiber and Tom Røseth deployed to Shkozet and Shkodra respectively NORDEM /The Norwegian Centre of Human Rights University of Oslo May 2004

4 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION POLITICAL BACKGROUND...1 Political parties in Albania THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK...6 Central Governmental Bodies...6 Local Governmental Bodies...6 The Electoral Code THE ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION...7 Voting Centre Commissions...9 General impression of the electoral administration VOTER AND CIVIC EDUCATION VOTER REGISTRATION CANDIDATE REGISTRATION THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN THE MEDIA OBSERVATION ON POLLING DAY THE REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS PROCESS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS COMMENTS ON THE ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION APPENDICES... 25

5 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS INTRODUCTION According to the EOM s Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, the 12 October 2003 local elections in Albania marked a big step forward regarding compliance with international standards for democratic elections. Most of the recommendations mentioned in the OSCE/ODIHR s Final Report after the 2001 elections, have been adhered to in the new electoral code. These elections were held in an improved political atmosphere with fewer problems than in earlier elections. In spite of this, repeat elections had to be held in ten communes and municipalities in Albania. The results show that the political landscape has changed in Albania: The Socialist Party (SP) still retains a majority of the mayoral seats (approximately 52% of 384 local government units), although this represents a loss of more than 16% compared to previous election results. The opposition, in particular the Democratic Party (DP), made the most gains by increasing their share of mayoral seats by over 13%. These gains occurred mostly in urban areas of central Albania and some in the south. The final results gave SP 33 % of the vote, DP 32%, SDP 5,5%, RP 3,5% and HRUP 3%. Considered as a whole, the results show a less sharply politically divided country than before. Although the traditional voting pattern showing DP strength in the north and SP in the south is still visible, the gains made by both main parties make the distinction less noticeable. The representation of women in these elections, however, was wholly unsatisfactory. Only 70 of the 1,948 candidates were women, representing 3,5% of the total. Only 4 of the 384 mayors elected are women (1%), which marks decline from 2000 elections when 12 women were elected (3%). 2. POLITICAL BACKGROUND Albania, officially named the Republic of Albania, is located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, stretching north from the Otranto Strait - the southern entrance to the Adriatic. The population of the capital city, Tirana, is believed to be between 950,000 and 1,100,000. Albania has an area of 28,748 square kilometres. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, to the northeast by Kosovo, to the east by Macedonia (FYROM) and to the southeast and south by Greece. To the west and southwest, it has a coastline with the Adriatic and Ionian seas. The official population of Albania is approximately 3,1 million. The urban population amounts to 42% of the population, while the remaining 58% is rural. No accurate figure exists for the volume of emigration from , but it is assumed to be between 600, ,000. Greeks make up the largest ethnic minority and are concentrated

6 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS mainly in the southeast. Other ethnic minority groups include Macedonians (5,000), Vlachs, Gypsies, Roma and Montenegrins (1,500). The breakdown of religious affinity is as follows: 70% Muslim, 20 % Albanian Orthodox and 10 % Roman Catholic. Albania declared herself independent in 1912, but the great powers of Europe transferred half of her territory and people to neighbouring states during the following year. Emerging from World War I and a period of instability, Albania was ruled as a monarchy from 1927, but came under increasing Italian influence and eventually occupation in the inter-war period. After World War II Albania emerged as a communist state in which the ruling party controlled all aspects of life. Under Enver Hoxha, the country was effectively cut off from the rest of the world. In 1967 religion was banned, places of worship closed down and many religious leaders were imprisoned. After the death of Hoxha in 1985, the new party leader, Ramiz Alia, sought to preserve the communist system, but simultaneously he tried to gradually introduce new economic reforms. After the collapse of other communist regimes, Alia allowed the creation of independent political parties in December 1990, thus signalising an end to the communist monopoly on power. However, Albania s experience with democracy has to date not been totally satisfactory. Dishonest government leaders have sought to exploit the weakness of the state institutions. Corruption and organized crime has been rampant. A fraudulent series of Pyramid Schemes ultimately collapsed in 1997 bringing down the government and resulted in the collapse of state institutions and much of the remaining industrial base of the country. As a result of this situation, the OSCE presence in Albania was established to oversee national elections and assist with the development of democratic structures of the state. On June , Albania s parliament elected 73-year-old Alfred Moisiu, a retired general, as the country s first consensual president. After that Albania has had a more normal parliamentary development, which resulted in an agreement between the two largest parties, the Socialist Party (SP) and the Democratic Party (DP). The signing of the first stage of the Stabilization and Association process (SAA), took place on 1 February 2003, and both political groups remain committed to future membership in the EU as a primary goal. Similarly, both groups are committed to NATO membership, from their point of view ideally by Political parties in Albania There are a total of 63 registered political parties in Albania. Many of them are dormant and most have more to do with personality than policy. Altogether 39 different parties were registered for the 2003 local elections, the political differences between the parties are often difficult to discover. Many of the parties are the result of internal conflicts within the earlier existing parties, which have led to partysplits leading to the creation of new parties. In the Parliament 15 parties are represented, of which six have formed a majority and is termed the left wing with the SP as the most important party. The right wing, or the opposition, consists of nine different parties with the DP as the largest and most important.

7 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS The following presentation focuses on the most influential parties in the 2003 local elections and may exclude parties that in other contexts would have been mentioned. Socialist Party (SP) Party chairman: Fatos Nano. The Socialist Party (SP) emerged from the 10th Congress of the former Party of Labour of Albania on 12 June 1991 and became the literal successor of the party that had governed Albania during the Hoxha regime. After the March 1992 elections, the SP was the largest opposition party. The imprisonment of SP Chairman Fatos Nano on July and his conviction in 1994 to 12 years of imprisonment, (of which he served four), for misappropriation, and the associated abuse of office and falsification of documents, dramatically influenced the next four years of the SP s existence. The SP performed poorly in the parliamentary elections in May 1996, which were marred by violence and fraud and broadly criticized internationally. When the SP was awarded only 10 seats, it decided to boycott the 155-seat Parliament. With its second Congress pending in the summer of 1996, the SP pulled itself together against all predictions. From prison, Nana approved the famous 'motion' with which the SP distanced itself further from the past, a move it hitherto had refrained from making so as not to lose the conservative part of the electorate. At the August 1996 Congress, Nano was re-elected Chairman. Nano was finally released from prison in March 1997 and in the parliamentary elections in June 1997 the SP won 101 out of the 155 seats in Parliament. Three months after he had been released from prison, Fatos Nano became Prime Minister. In September 1998 Nano was forced to resign and Mr Pandeli Majko replaced him. In October 1999 Majko was replaced by Ilir Meta as Prime Minister and in the 2000 Local Elections SP was once again the winner. After the 2001 Parliamentary Elections the SP continued in power. The Socialist Party represents the left alternative in Albania. It entered Albanian political life with the emergence of pluralism and profound, democratic, post-communist transformations. As a party belonging that appeals to the broad strata of the population, the SP has a program centred on social progress and fundamental human values and works to implement its policy for the radical, democratic transformation of society. Democratic Party (DP) Party Chairman: Sali Berisha. Albania s first opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP) was founded on 11 December leading the country out of 50 long years under communism. Under the pressure of formidable student demonstrations the communist government backed down and approved the establishment of a multi-party system.

8 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS The first Congress of the DP in February 1991 elected Dr Sali Berisha as chairman and in the first pluralist general elections, March 1991, the DP won 39 % of the votes and took its seats in the Albanian Assembly as the first opposition party. The DP won a landslide victory in the 22 March 1992 general elections; 62% of the vote, which translated into 92 out of the 140 seats in the Assembly and on 8 April 1992 Dr Sali Berisha was elected the first non-communist Head of State in Albania. In the May 1996 general elections, the DP again emerged as the winner and was awarded another 4-year term in office. This time the SP strongly contested and protested against the election results, boycotting Parliament. The crash of the get-rich-quickly pyramid schemes that buried the dreams and savings of thousands of Albanians, resulted in a total break-down of law and order and sent the country to the very brink of all-out anarchy in March Consequently, general elections were called in June This time the DP was the loser and had to move to the opposition. After this event the DP has tried hard to come back in position in Albanian politics, but especially in the south of Albania where the pyramid schemes were most active, the voters have tended to vote for SP and have blamed the DP for their economic misfortunes. As a centre-right party the DP proclaims its major goals to be to guarantee broader freedoms and rights for the individual and the minorities; to build the rule-of-law and its institutions at European standards; facilitate prosperity based on free initiative and the market economy, and to fully integrate Albania into the EU, NATO and other Euro- Atlantic institutions. Social Democrat Party (SDP) Party Chairman: Skënder Gjinushi The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was founded on April 1991, in the aftermath of the first free parliamentary elections in March/April that same year. In 1992 the SDP participated in the Democratic Party led coalition, which included the Republican Party (RP) and won 5% of the votes in the parliamentary election which resulted in a parliamentary group of 7 deputies. The party got one ministerial post and 3 junior ministers. In the 1992 elections the SDP won 7% of the votes in the local elections. In 1994 the SDP left the coalition formed with the DP and in 1996 in the parliamentary elections they lost all their mandates and were ousted from Parliament. In December 1996 they joined the Forum for Democracy, which included the Albanian Socialist Party. In the local elections in 1996 the SDP formed a coalition with two other parties called Centre Pole and in June 1997 the SDP again managed to secure eight out of 155 seats in Parliament in the parliamentary elections. In 2000 the SDP formed part of the SP led government coalition called Alliance for the State. The SDP s vice-chairman, Paskal Milo, became the Foreign Minister. The SDP has strongholds among intellectuals, urban workers and some small groups of peasants, but this support has vanished. The party favours economic reforms linked to a social programme.

9 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Social Democracy Party (SDY) Party Chairman: Paskal Milo In early summer 2003, Paskal Milo split from the SDP due to internal wrangling for the party leadership. He attempted to form his own party the Social Democracy Party (SDY). This party was running in most of the municipalities and communes in the local elections 2003 and the choice of an almost identical party name has caused great confusion among a lot of voters in Albania. Human Rights Union Party (HRUP) Party Chairman: Vangjel Dule The Human Rights Union Party was founded on 15 January 1992 and commenced its political activity as a party of the minorities; attracting other minorities apart from the Greek minority, such as the Serbs and Montenegrins, the Vlahs, the Macedonians, Gypsies and Roma. Year by year it has been expanding its programme focused on the preservation of human rights and freedom in general and of the minorities in particular. Today it is simply known as the party of the minorities. The HRUP presents itself on the Albanian political scene as a party of the centre with its own individual profile. From 1992 until 1994 the HRUP was an ally of the ruling party, the DP. But after the imprisonment of five of its members, the HRUP joined the opposition. After the parliamentary elections in 1997, the HRUP has been a member of the governing coalition known as the Alliance for the State, which also comprises four other parties, mainly from the left: the SP, the SDP, the Democratic Alliance Party (DAP) and the Agrarian Party (EAP). In 2000, the HRUP won in eight communes. In these elections the HRUP won about 274 seats on local councils, alone or running together with the SP. This placed the HRUP in third place in terms of electoral units won and in fourth place in terms of percentages. Republican Party (RP) Party Chairman: Fatmir Mediu. The Albanian Republican Party was founded on 10 January The party sits centreright on the political spectrum and its programme professes that the party works for a free and democratic system for the citizens. They want state protection of national, spiritual and historic values. As a priority in foreign policy they want Albania integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures. During the period from 1991 until today they have often acted as a strong supporter of the leading party of the right-centre party in Albanian politics - the DP. Legaliteti Movement Party (LMP) Party Chairman: Ekrem Spahiu The LMP is a national party centred in Tirana, supporting the re-establishment of the Albanian monarchy. The Legaliteti Movement was founded as an organisation in 1943

10 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS and has since fought communism. It survived the Hoxha period and is now officially recognized as a party. During the parliamentary elections in 2001 the LMP won two parliamentary seats. One of its most important goals is the democratic re-instalment of the constitutional monarchy of King Leka Zogu I, who returned to Albania in the summer of THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK After the interwar monarchical period, the communists took power after World War II and retained it until the collapse of that regime in 1990 when independent parties were allowed to function, thus marking the beginning of the struggle for democracy in Albania. The Parliament approved the Albanian Constitution in 1998 and in Article 1 states that Albania is a parliamentary republic. Central Governmental Bodies The Parliament consists of the Assembly with 140 deputies. One hundred deputies are elected from single-mandate districts. Forty members are elected on a proportional basis from the parties or electoral blocs multi-name party lists. The Assembly is elected for four years and is summoned to its first meeting by the President of the Republic. The Assembly elects the President for 5 years by secret vote. The current President is Alfred Moisiu, elected in The Council of Ministers is led by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President of the Republic upon the proposal of the party or coalition of parties that has the majority in the Assembly. The current Prime Minister, Mr. Fatos Nano, is the leader of the Socialist Party (SP). Local Governmental Bodies As the basic level of local government, the Constitution establishes municipalities (mainly cities and towns), and communes (mainly rural villages). During the 2003 local elections, elections were held in 65 municipalities and 309 communes. In addition, Tirana is divided into 11 municipal sub-units within the metropolitan city. In addition to the municipalities and communes, Albania is divided into 12 administrative regions and 36 districts. A Prefect governs the regions with offices also in the districts.

11 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS The Electoral Code The 2003 local elections were held under a new electoral code adopted by the Parliament on 19 June 2003 on the basis of suggested amendments consensually agreed upon by the bi-partisan (i.e. consisting of members from both SP and DP) committee and two protocol agreements between the SP and DP. The bi-partisan committee was assisted by the OSCE presence in Albania, the OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe. Both the SP and DP have publicly supported the new code, ending a seven-year period of disagreement over election legislation. According to the EOM, the new electoral code represents an improved legal framework compared to the former electoral code. These improvements are a result of the recommendations made by OSCE/ODIHR in their final report after the election in The changes are important especially regarding procedures on how to lodge complaints and appeals against decisions of election commissions. Significantly for the 2003 local elections, the system for electing mayors of municipalities and communes has been changed from a majority system requiring an absolute majority and providing for a second round run-off between the top two candidates if this was not achieved, to a one-round majority system in which the candidate obtaining the largest number of votes is elected. Although the new electoral code represents an important step and improvement towards a legal framework similar to what other democratic countries have, there is still a long way to go. 4. THE ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION In its preliminary statement, the EOM states that the Central Election Commission (CEC) administered the elections in a generally professional, transparent and evenhanded manner. The composition of the CEC was a contentious issue throughout the election campaign, as the opposition claimed it lacked political balance, but this did not hamper the members in the execution of their duties. The CEC members were supported by an independent and generally competent Secretariat, although there was a lack of timely planning of key stages in the election administration, especially in the distribution of materials. The elections were administered by a three-tiered election administration: the CEC; 384 Local Government Election Commissions (LGEC) located in each municipality and commune; and 4,688 Voting Centre Commissions (VCC) one for each polling station. The composition of the 3-level election commissions is regulated by the Electoral code and caused some problems, especially on local level. Central Election Commission The CEC is composed of seven members; two members are appointed by Parliament upon proposals from the left and right spectrum of its political composition, excluding the largest party of either political orientation.

12 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Furthermore, the President appoints two members of the CEC upon the respective proposals of the two largest political parties of the majority and the opposition. Finally, The High Council of Justice selects three members of the CEC according to the following procedure: Two members of the CEC are approved from among two candidates for each vacancy proposed respectively from the two largest parties; The third member is selected by the High Council of Justice according to this procedure: the two largest parliamentary groups each propose four candidates who are jurists by profession. Each of the parliamentary groups selects two of the four candidates from the other group. The High Council of Justice votes on the four selected candidacies and selects one, no later than 48 hours after they have been proposed. In compliance with article 153 of the Constitution, the CEC is responsible for the administration, decision-making and instruction of the all elections in the whole territory of Albania. Local Government Election Commissions A LGEC consists of seven members who are appointed according to article 40 in the electoral code. The following procedure applies: The main ruling party proposes two members for the LGEC ; the main opposition party proposes two members. The second party within the ruling political spectrum based on the number of votes obtained during the last local governmental election proposes one member. Likewise, the second party within the opposition based on the number of votes obtained during the last local governmental election also proposes one member. In half of the LGECs, the seventh member is proposed by the main governing party, and in the other half by the main opposition party. The respective LGECs are established by the CEC according to objective criteria based on: (i) random selection; and (ii) equal distribution in the electoral territory. An LGEC performs these duties: It is responsible for the administration of the elections for the organs of local government; it is responsible for posting, revising, and approving the preliminary voter lists of the respective municipality or commune, following provisions in the Electoral code and the instructions of the CEC. It defines the polling unit boundaries in the municipality or commune together with organs of local government. In an analogous way, the LGEC performs the same duties that the electoral code outlines for a Zonal Election Commission (ZEC): it is, e.g., responsible for all administrative duties concerning the elections; the appointment of the VCC members; it handles the voting materials; verifies the candidates documentation; determines the numbers and locations of the VCs and; is responsible for the tabulation of the election results and the declaration of the results (Art. 37 in the EC). In this election the biggest problem was that local authorities did not receive the new Electoral code in time for a proper training of the members of the Local Government Election Commissions and the Voting Centre Commissions (VCCs).

13 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Voting Centre Commissions The VCC is composed the same way and according to the same procedure as for the LGECs. The VCC members are appointed for the election period only and no later than ten days before Election day. Based on article 44 of the Electoral code, the members of the VCCs are responsible for the good administration of the election in the voting centre, according to the legal dispositions and the legal provisions issued by the CEC. General impression of the electoral administration Observation conducted by the international observers before and during election day revealed many examples of poor administrative work on all three levels of the electoral administration. The CEC had serious problems keeping the deadlines in important matters. Important instructions on how to handle matters like voter- and candidate registration were delayed and in issues where the approval of the CEC was needed, the deadlines were changed. The result was that the final voter list in many municipalities and communes were not ready until election day and the voters experienced great problems finding their names or knowing where to vote. In some cases the approval of the location of polling stations was delayed making it almost impossible for the LGECs to know what to do. Additionally, the procedures for counting were not finalized until a few days before Election day and this made it extremely difficult for the LGECs to train the members of the VCCs how to conduct the counting. Despite these problems concerning the work of the CEC, the impression was that the LGECs were functioning quite well. There were, however, some examples of maladministration among the LGECs. As Election day approached the LTOs experienced serious problems in some municipalities when parties put forward allegations concerning violations of the Electoral code. In many cases the LGECs failed to act and just passed the complaints on to the CEC. In Himara, for instance, the problems regarding the qualifications of the LGEC s secretary caused so big problems for the functioning of the LGEC that up until a few days before election day no one knew the precise location of some of the polling stations, the members of VCC had not been appointed and the training of the VCC was postponed and parties were complaining. Finally, the CEC ordered the replacement of the secretary, but the order came too close up to election day and was never implemented. The training of VCC members was conducted by the LGEC and provided for by the CEC in cooperation with the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). Because of the delay of printing of training material, the time frames were repeatedly postponed and the result was poor attendance in some areas. However, most of the training sessions were generally reported to be good.

14 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS As election day was approaching, the difficult climate between parties within the LGECs resulted in some parties in certain municipalities and communes replacing their VCC members the very last days before election day. As a result of this, new VCC members did not receive any training. Consequently, it was not surprising that many VCC members displayed limited knowledge of the new electoral code or of the procedures stated in the Training Manual. 5. VOTER AND CIVIC EDUCATION For the voters, information about the voting procedures was mostly relayed through posters in and around the polling stations informing the voters what to do. In addition, all TV stations aired several programmes during the pre-election period where they informed about the election and the voting process. 6. VOTER REGISTRATION The EOM noted in its preliminary statement that complaints about the voter list revision process were widespread. In order to meet demands of political parties, the CEC postponed deadlines for the revision process and instructed the LGECs to make additional efforts to check voters names even when supporting evidence was not submitted to the LGECs. Although political parties complained to the OSCE/ODIHR and the CEC about LGEC decisions on the preliminary voter lists, few took such complaints to the District Courts as the Electoral code provides for. As a result, publication of the final voter lists was delayed. General provisions in the Electoral Code: A person eligible to vote in Albania must: Be an Albanian citizen Have reached the age of 18 Not suffer from any mental illness Voters are obliged to vote in the polling station in the area where they have their registered address. In order to verify the identity of the voter or to request changes in the voter list, the voter has to provide documents that prove his/her name, date of birth and identity number. According to the Electoral code, a request to amend the PVL may be submitted no later than 4 weeks prior to Election day.

15 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS To appeal against an LGEC decision, the case must be brought before the court within 48 hours from its announcement. The decision of the district court in such matters is final. Voter lists have been a source of controversy during recent elections. To address this concern, prior to the 2000 local elections, the authorities, with the help of the international community, created a computerized national voter register run by the Ministry of Local Government. In its Final Report on the 2001 Parliamentary Elections the OSCE/ODIHR EOM recommended that the accuracy of the voter lists be improved. The bi-partisan committee discussed the issue in some detail and decided that the existing voter register should be used as the basis for the 2003 local government elections, and that the voter lists for the 2005 parliamentary elections should be based on civil registers. On 12 August the CEC, with the agreement of the DP representative to the CEC and the representatives of other parties, unanimously approved the preliminary lists. The preliminary voter lists contained approximately 2,600,000 names. The revision of the preliminary voter lists (PVL) was administered by the LGECs and the process was still ongoing after the deadline determined by the CEC 28 September. The final voter lists, approved by the CEC, included 2,703,608 entries. The frustration among political parties and voters was very apparent. In Vlora about 1,300 names were missing and in Tirana some 12,000 names were apparently missing from the PVL. In addition the PVL contained many names of people who were either dead or who had left Albania and were temporarily resident abroad. Reports also told of cases where families had split and where names of family members often were found on lists in neighbouring communes, or were not found at all. 7. CANDIDATE REGISTRATION In July 2203, the CEC announced that 50 political parties and one electoral bloc had been registered to participate in the elections. The deadline for the approval of nominations for multi-name party lists and individual mayoral candidates by LGECs expired on 16 September. After this deadline it was clear that only 39 parties had successfully registered for the 2003 elections. Around 1,750 persons were running for mayoral positions, while there were almost 4,000 separate party lists for council assemblies, including 62 from independent candidates. The number of women candidates decreased even further from the already low levels of previous elections. In order to be registered as a candidate the electoral code contains several requirements that have to be met: A candidate must: Be 18 years old; Live in the respective local government unit;

16 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Not be a deputy in parliament or a candidate for deputy; Not be military or police personnel; and Not be convicted of a crime by a final court decision. If a candidate wants to run for a seat in parliament, he/she needs the signatures of at least 300 voters supporting his/her candidacy. For candidates for mayor of a municipality or commune with up to 5,000 voters, the electoral code requires the signatures of 50 voters; this increases to 300 signatures if the municipality has more than 30,000 voters. The CEC received about 40 appeals against the decisions of the LGECs, most of which concerned the registration of mayoral candidates. In almost all instances the CEC did not decide on the appeal within the prescribed timeframe of three days. The observers discovered that in spite of the fact that the new electoral code contains simplified procedures for handling complaints and appeals, the political parties tended to complain through the media or even to the ODIHR/OSCE, instead of filing formal complaints following clearly prescribed procedures in the electoral code. As a result, no complaints regarding candidate or voter registration were submitted to the district courts during the electoral campaign in the Norwegian LTO s area of responsibility. 8. THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN It was the EOM s assessment that the campaign was conducted in a calm and orderly atmosphere with a reduction in the heated rhetoric that marred past campaigns. There were only a few isolated reports of attempted intimidation through pressure on employment. Debates were more substantive than in previous elections. The campaign mainly focused on the national party leaders and not until the last days before election day did election events take place and campaign material featuring local candidates started to appear in the media. A lot of discussion in local politics before the election concentrated on the moral standards of the local candidates. In some regions candidates were accused of corruption and other more serious crimes. Because of the delay of public funding of the electoral campaign, the incumbent parties and candidates enjoyed a great advantage over other candidates and smaller parties. Some candidates, many of them businessmen, funded their own campaigns. In three municipalities - Shkodra, Fier and Vlora - the Prefects were running for the mayoral positions and opposition parties voiced a lot of complaints about the misuse of administrative resources. Although the Prefects in Vlora and Fier claimed that they had taken leave from office, the LTOs in the area obtained clear evidence that they were still performing their duties and thus were mixing their official role with campaigning. Finally, on 30 September, the Prime Minister ordered the suspension from office of the three Prefects, noting that the law did not require it, but he wished to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

17 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS The level of campaigning was high only in the larger municipalities. The focus of both activity and media coverage was on political party leaders rather than local candidates. During the campaign there were some complaints about political pressure being applied on opposition candidates and supporters. Cases were mainly reported in the school system, with instances of DP and also RP candidates or supporters having been demoted or even fired from their positions for then to be replaced by SP supporters. From different parts of Albania there were also came reports about police intimidation of DP and HRUP supporters. There were also some cases where the tax police had reportedly been harassing businessmen supporting the opposition parties. Despite these incidents the campaign was conducted in an extremely orderly fashion and all parties confirmed that the electoral campaign this time was a very calm one, with very little tension and almost without any violence before election day. 9. THE MEDIA The EOM s preliminary report noted that a large spectrum of electronic and print media provided voters with extensive information about the campaigns of political parties and candidates and activities of the election administration. Coverage focused primarily on the activities of the SP and DP. The statement furthermore reads that in a welcome development, television coverage was significantly improved in comparison to previous elections. Almost all broadcasters monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR complied with their legal obligation to provide balanced and correct coverage of the main parties and candidates According to Article 134 in the new electoral code all candidates and parties have the right to produce electoral propaganda in any lawful manner. Campaigning is only permitted from 30 days prior to the elections and must stop 24 hours before the opening of polls. During this period public radio and television shall provide free airtime for each registered political party in compliance with the following provisions: The largest parties should receive no less than 30 minutes of free airtime on television and radio; Smaller parties that have obtained less than 20% of the seats in the parliament should receive no less than 15 minutes free airtime. Parties not represented in parliament are entitled to 10 minutes of air time both in radio and on television. The new electoral code states that public media outlets have to cover the electoral campaign through news and informative programmes obeying by the principles of impartiality, truthfulness, completeness and pluralism. Public radio and television are not permitted to broadcast paid political advertising. In contrast, private radio and television broadcasters are allowed to transmit paid political advertisements.

18 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS In order to control that the media acts in accordance with legal provisions, the CEC established the Media Monitoring Board (MMB), which had the task of monitoring the implementation of the provisions given in the electoral code. Local monitors were placed at the LGEC where the radio/television broadcaster is situated. The printed media is supposed to conduct its activities in the same way as the electronic media. In general, the campaign coverage by electronic media was impartial and closely guided by the instructions based on the electoral code and by the MMB. The MMB was functioning efficiently - submitting regular daily and weekly reports to the CEC on media coverage of the elections. According to the MMB, the coverage of the two main parties SP and DP - was generally balanced. The smaller parties complained to the CEC that their campaigns did not receive the extent of coverage prescribed by the electoral code. Compared to the electronic media the tone of the printed media was more aggressive and negative. One of the most aggressive newspapers was the Tirana daily 55, which edited two articles a week before the election day where the Prefect in Vlora, who was running for mayor, was accused of being responsible for the death and killing of 5-6 persons in the south of Albania during the last months. The same candidate was also accused of being paedophile. 10. OBSERVATION ON POLLING DAY According to the EOM, election day was generally calm and with a turnout of some 52% of registered voters. Voting was mostly carried out according to established procedures but irregularities were noted, especially in relation to a failure to consistently apply ink to prevent double voting. There were many reports of problems with voter lists and voters being turned away from voting centres (polling stations). Violent incidents took place in Himara (see also below). More serious problems were observed after the close of polls, with 37% of voting centres having a negative assessment of the counting process, and 42% significant procedural errors and omissions. There were disputes over the validity of ballot papers in 45% of the voter centres, resulting in a relatively high proportion of invalid ballots. However, counting was undertaken in a generally transparent manner (96%) and there were only four observed cases where a VCC member refused to sign the official results protocol. In this election, special invisible ink and UV-lamps were introduced for the first time. The international observers reported that in 16% of the polling stations visited, the VCC members did not apply ink or use the UV-lamp to prevent double voting. There were also observed group voting in 36% of the visited polling stations.

19 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Election day procedures Chapter IV in the electoral code outlines the following procedures to be followed at a polling station: The voter presents himself to the VCC members with an identity document (with a picture in it) issued by the civil status office or another identity document as determined by CEC. After verifying the identity of the voter, the chairman strikes out the voter s name, the voter signs the voter list. The ballot paper is then signed and stamped on the back by the VCC secretary, who gives it to the voter. Before receiving the ballot paper, the voter has to be checked with a special UV lamp for invisible ink. After the voter has received the ballot, he is marked on the left hand with special ink in order to avoid the person voting more than once. The voter then proceeds to the voting booth and votes by marking the ballot. The voter folds the ballot so that his mark can not be seen and puts the ballot into the ballot box A voter who is unable to complete the voting procedures himself, may request the help of a family member or another voter who is on that polling station s voter list. Members of the VCC may not assist voters unable to vote on their own. No armed personnel, including police or members of the armed forces, may enter the polling station except when there are problems with the orderly conduct in the polling station. Altogether 230 international short-term observers participated in the observation mission during election day and they visited more than 1000 polling stations. No later than a.m. all observers were to attend the opening in a selected polling station. Later during election day the STO teams were expected to visit more polling stations. Twice during the day, the teams faxed the completed observation forms to Tirana HQ or brought them to the LTOs base. The STOs then selected a polling stations were they where to observe the closing and counting. After the counting had been completed, the teams were requested to accompany the VCC chairperson, the deputy chair and the secretary to the LGEC where the ballot box and other election materials were to be handed over to the LGEC chairperson. After they had followed the ballot boxes to the LGEC, the STOs returned to base and were individually de-briefed by the LTOs. The next morning another de-briefing was arranged by the LTOs as a group meeting before the STOs were sent out to visit as many LGECs as possible in order to follow the tabulation of results, or to obtain results from LGECs which had already finished the tabulation. In case of serious incidents and potential security problems, the STOs were to contact the local OSCE Field Office (FO) or the LTOs. Snapshot observations For the 2003 Local Elections in Albania, special snapshot observations were conducted experimentally in each of the nine LTO regions and by one STO team for each region. Each of those teams had to shorten the time of observation at the polling stations, thus enlarging the number of polling stations visited. However, since this was an experiment,

20 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS it was important not to jeopardize the standard ODIHR observation methodology. Therefore each snapshot team had to visit at least 5 polling stations during the day where they were to conduct standard election observation. Otherwise, the snapshot teams were to spend five minutes only in each polling station they visited; the idea being to maximize the number of polling stations observed. Regarding issues that are not of a static nature, such as how the screens are positioned in order to ensure secrecy, it has been concluded that the duration of visit, either it is five or 30 minutes, will give an equally true picture of the atmosphere in the polling station. Questions that deal with dynamics of the voting process, as well as following the correctness of the voting procedures were avoided, since no such dynamics can be observed in a very short visit. While forming this additional methodology, it has been concluded that special STO teams, which will spend more time around the polling stations then regular teams, and who are basically enclosed in the polling stations for most of the observation time, easier will be able to observe possible incidents provoked by external factors. This fact bears importance, since many incidents are initially provoked not by VCC members, but from the outside. Thus, straying only slightly from the standard election observation methodology, these special teams will be able to assess the atmosphere and structure of the elections during election day not only in the controlled environment of the polling stations, but also in their vicinity. This especially applies to urban polling stations, usually clustered in school or other public buildings. In Vlora, the LTOs decided that the snapshot team should start by observing the opening in a polling station in Vlora and after that cover as many polling stations as possible in Vlora, Fier and the communes between Vlora and Fier. They had to determine themselves where to do the five standard observations. Our snapshot team covered 30 polling stations as compared to about 15 in average for the ordinary STO teams. Election Day Observation report from STO Kris Ann Riiber General information The STO team s Area of Responsibility (AoR) was Shkozet - a (former) industrial zone in the suburbs of Durres, with a 70% Roma population. Durres is situated 45 km west of Tirana. Durres boasts an important harbour and is the second largest city in Albania with a population of approximately 160,000, of which there were 113,700 registered voters. The numbers of registered voters in Shkozet was 12,931. The mayor from the last elections is Mr. Dr. Miri Hoti (SP) and the 45-member municipal council had the following composition: SP 19 members, DP - 20, SDP - 2, HRP - 1, DA - 2, and UR 1 member. Prior to election day it was expected that people not included on the voters lists and the presence of police within the polling stations - would cause problems during the poll. The ODIHR EOM covered the district of Durres with 30 STO teams.

21 ALBANIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Observation of opening The chosen polling unit was a primary school with four polling stations. The voting material arrived with the police at hours and the polling station opened at It turned out that the centre had received voter lists belonging to a polling station in another part of Durres. This caused the poll at the centre to be suspended until the assigned voters list for the polling station had arrived from the CEC in Tirana. When the STO team returned to the venue just after the reopening at 10.30, the situation was chaotic but eventually calmed down towards the end of the day. Observation of polling The STO team had no reports on police intimidation. During election day the team did not see one police officer even remotely close to a polling station or unit. The environment around the centres seemed in general to be calm and orderly. The layout in the polling stations was well organized, securing the secrecy of the vote - except in one case where the voting screen was placed close to the entrance, giving direct insight for voters in line. Ballot boxes were properly sealed, except in one case - presumably due to ignorance. Anger and frustration of people being turned away because they did not appear on the voter lists occurred to a large extent in all the polling stations the team visited. One VCC reported having turned away as many as 50% of the voters that had shown up. In general, and quite correctly, the VCCs seemed not to be allowing people not included on the voter lists to vote. The use of invisible ink and UV-lamp was hardly ever observed, and the reason for using it - or how - did not seem to be understood. Disputes within the VCC were neither reported nor observed to be solved by calling a vote. The team observed that disputes tended to be solved by one party giving in upon heated debate. As for gender balance, the members of the VCCs were predominantly male. The team observed family voting in all polling stations and the voters often ignored instructions from VCC members. No proxy voting was reported or observed. The team came across one incident of ballot box stuffing where the VCC secretary (SP) presumably had issued three ballots instead of one on three different occasions. A party observer from the New Democratic Party observed the actual stuffing of the ballot box just prior to the team s arrival. The VCC chairman (DP) did not object to the incident. The incident caused the remaining 45 minutes of the polling station s opening hours to be suspended, due to presence of the media (local television) and very loud arguments within the VCC and between party observer and VCC members. Observation of counting The polling station closed at and the VCC s knowledge of the counting procedures seemed to be basically poor. The chairman of the VCC - rather than following the counting procedures, and which might have uncovered the ballot stuffing at an earlier stage - tried to reach consensus within the VCC and with the party observers present by