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Albania’s 2021 parliamentary elections: OSCE/ODIHR observation mission final report

26 July 2021
(OSCE)

The 2021 parliamentary elections in Albania offered voters a choice of candidates, who were able to campaign freely, and fundamental freedoms were generally respected. However, the ruling party had a significant advantage, both from its control of local administrations and the misuse of administrative resources. Allegations of vote buying by political parties were widespread during the campaign, leading to a number of investigations being opened. At the same time, a reformed Central Election Commission oversaw the election in an organized and transparent way, and the process on election day was largely transparent and smooth. These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on Albania’s 25 April elections, published today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).  

The report offers 23 recommendations to bring elections in Albania closer in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.   

Key recommendations include: 

  • Reviewing the legal framework to address outstanding ODIHR and Venice Commission recommendations in an open and inclusive consultation process, and introducing changes well before the next elections; 

  • Guaranteeing the right to a free and secret choice and preventing any form of pressure to disclose whether and how people voted; 

  • Intensifying efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute cases of vote-buying and encouraging citizens to report and provide evidence of any vote-buying or pressure; 

  • Ensuring the security of citizens’ personal data and thoroughly investigating and prosecuting any breach impacting public confidence in the electoral process; 

  • Amending legislation to ensure that the media are able to independently cover activities of electoral contestants and limit the use of party produced content in the news. 

ODIHR deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission on 19 March 2021 to observe the parliamentary elections. All 57 participating States across the OSCE region have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.