Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA LOCAL ELECTIONS 30 June 2019 ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report Warsaw 5 September 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 1 II. INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................... 3 III. BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL CONTEXT ........................................................................... 4 IV. ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................. 5 V. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ................................................................................................... 6 A. CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION ................................................................................................. 7 B. LOWER-LEVEL ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ................................................................................ 8 VI. VOTER REGISTRATION ................................................................................................................ 9 VII. CANDIDATE REGISTRATION .................................................................................................... 10 VIII. CAMPAIGN ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................................... 11 IX. CAMPAIGN FINANCE .................................................................................................................. 14 X. MEDIA .............................................................................................................................................. 15 A. MEDIA ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................... 15 B. LEGAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................................... 16 C. MEDIA MONITORING FINDINGS .................................................................................................... 19 XI. PARTICIPATION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES ..................................................................... 19 XII. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS .................................................................................................... 20 XIII. ELECTION OBSERVATION ........................................................................................................ 22 XIV. ELECTION DAY ............................................................................................................................. 23 XV. POST-ELECTION DAY DEVELOPMENTS ............................................................................... 25 XVI. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................. 26 A. PRIORITY RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................... 26 B. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................... 27 ANNEX I: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS ............................................................................................ 29 ANNEX II: LIST OF OBSERVERS ......................................................................................................... 31 ABOUT ODIHR ......................................................................................................................................... 34 REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA LOCAL ELECTIONS 30 June 2019 ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Albania and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the 30 June 2019 local elections. The ODIHR EOM assessed compliance of the elections with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections and national legislation. The Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions issued by the ODIHR EOM on 1 July concluded that “The 30 June local elections were held with little regard for the interests of the electorate. The opposition decided not to participate, and the government determined to hold the elections without it. In the climate of a political standoff and polarisation, voters did not have a meaningful choice between political options. In 31 of the 61 municipalities mayoral candidates ran unopposed. There were credible allegations of citizens being pressured by both sides. Political confrontation led to legal uncertainty, and many decisions of the election administration were taken with the political objective of ensuring the conduct of elections. Voting was conducted in a generally peaceful and orderly manner and counting was assessed positively overall, although several procedures were not always followed correctly”. The elections took place against a background of a political and institutional crisis, stemming from long-standing antagonism between the governing Socialist Party (SP) and the opposition Democratic Party (DP). The latter had left the parliament together with the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) in February and determined not to participate in elections until the resignation of the Prime Minister and the formation of a technical government. On 10 June, President Meta issued a decree cancelling the elections citing concerns for public safety and his constitutional responsibility to protect pluralism. Parliament declared the decree void and initiated an inquiry procedure to remove the President from office. The atmosphere of legal uncertainty and standoff among key institutions undermined public confidence in the legitimacy of the elections. Regular opposition protests against the Prime Minister began in February in Tirana and were often marred by violence and vandalism directed at state institutions. Closer to election day, the protesters in other parts of the country targeted the election administration, often including acts of intimidation, violence and arson, and confrontations between municipal and state police. The legal framework could provide a sound basis for democratic elections, if implemented impartially and with genuine political will. The absence of political agreement since the 2017 parliamentary elections prevented progress on electoral reform, leaving most prior ODIHR recommendations unaddressed, including those concerning the de-politicization of the election administration, transparency of campaign finance and effectiveness of election dispute resolution. The Central Election Commission (CEC) regularly held open sessions and comprehensively regulated different aspects of the electoral process. The legally prescribed political balance within the election administration could not be achieved because of the main opposition parties’ initial decision not to nominate commissioners, and the CEC’s subsequent interpretation that only those parliamentary parties that stand for the elections could be represented in election administration. The politically 1 The English version of this report is the only official document. An unofficial translation is available in Albanian. Republic of Albania Page: 2 Local Elections, 30 June 2019 ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report unbalanced composition of the election administration and the opposition parties’ call on voters to boycott the elections further undermined public confidence in the process. No ODIHR EOM interlocutors raised concerns about the inclusiveness and accuracy of the voter lists. However, voters declared incapacitated by a court and non-citizens, irrespective of the length of their residency, are not entitled to vote in local elections. In addition, some interlocutors questioned the quality of the process of verifying address data. Voter lists were initially posted on the premises of the Commissions of Election Administration Zones (CEAZs) and Voting Centre Commissions (VCCs) as required by law, but were removed in mid-June in most opposition-governed municipalities, thus limiting voters’ ability to verify their data. The CEC was manifestly inclusive in its approach to candidate registration, which increased the number of contestants. However, the CEC interpreted the law inconsistently and in an overly broad manner, reducing legal certainty. In total, 97 mayoral candidates and 544 candidate lists for local councils were registered in 61 municipalities. Nevertheless, voters did not have a comprehensive choice from among major political alternatives as the main opposition parties abstained from the elections. The quota system for candidate registration has created an environment conducive to an increased participation of women in political life. Only those councillor candidate lists that included 50 per cent of each gender were registered, resulting in 44 per cent of local councillors' seats being won by women in these elections. Eleven women ran for mayor and eight (13 per cent) became mayors. Nevertheless, few women hold leadership roles within political parties. With some exceptions, women politicians did not feature prominently in the campaign or opposition protests. Two out of five CEC members and 37 per cent of CEAZ members were women. The visibility of campaign events was low, with the exception of SP rallies at which the Prime Minister