• Final-ConferenceZV2015
  • Results-main-01

Draft suggestions on the electoral reform in Albania regarding election management bodies (EMBS)

For over more than two decades, Albania has applied a multiparty management model of elections, where the balanced party affiliation of members of the Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) is considered as a necessary condition to guarantee fairness and transparency of the electoral process. Meanwhile, the model itself has contributed to the monopolization of elections by political parties. For this reason, de-politicization of the electoral administration has already become a prerequisite for the conduct of free and fair elections, and practically constitutes the number one recommendation of the reports produced by relevant local and international observers of elections in Albania.

Consequently, the current electoral reform should address this problem and guarantee the independence of the election administration. According to the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections and for Sustainable Democracy (CFFE), the model of election administration should be adjusted following six principles: 1) de-politicization that entirely removes political parties from election management does not form a model of compromise; 2) the Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform should be primarily responsive to the public interest; 3) the administration of elections is strengthened if the hierarchical relation of the election administration is strengthened, and if its responsibilities, control and accountability are clearly identified, legally and not politically; 4) the modernization of the electoral process and the introduction of technology should be treated primarily as positive objectives, as long as they are not regarded as the solution to all problems; 5) the discussion on the use of technology can not pursue political interests; 6) the electoral reform should also elaborate the legal, organizational and administrative measures to be adopted if the introduction of technology in the next elections fails.
The main pillars where the electoral reform should focus are:

Read the full report [pdf]