{"id":1432,"date":"2022-10-30T17:19:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T16:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kriik.al\/home\/?page_id=1432"},"modified":"2022-10-30T17:25:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T16:25:40","slug":"the-election-observation-action-for-the-albanian-parliament-on-april-25-2021","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kriik.al\/home\/en\/the-election-observation-action-for-the-albanian-parliament-on-april-25-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The Election Observation Action for the Albanian Parliament on April 25, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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KRIIK has continuously followed,\nsince the conclusion of the observation action of the Parliamentary Elections\n2017, almost all institutional, legal and political processes that are directly\nor indirectly related to the integrity of elections in Albania, including the\nelectoral reform process; the political crisis launched in January 2019; the\npreparatory progress of the Local Government Elections of 2019, their\ndevelopment as well as all the institutional processes and stalemates that\naccompanied and followed them; the process of electoral reform from the\nbeginning and then as an agreement reached by the Political Council; unilateral\nlegal and constitutional changes and other important institutional and\npolitical processes to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KRIIK’s opinions and positions on\nthese developments have been continuously made public through Public Statements\nor Attitudes, Open Letters, as well as through opinions and suggestions sent to\nlawmakers regarding the electoral reform, the Central Election Commission\nregarding the bylaws regulating the electoral process , or meetings with\npolitical and institutional actors, including the Special Parliamentary\nCommission on Electoral Reform, the Central Election Commission, political\nactors, international actors, etc. All these and other documents can be found\non this page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of the Elections for the Assembly of Albania\nof April 25, 2021<\/strong>, KRIIK has started to\nmonitor in its entirety since the announcement of the date of the elections by\nthe President of the Republic, on September 6, 2020. The Observation Action was\npublicly announced during the National Conference ” The Costs of Democracy\nII – Money in Politics and Electoral Integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 11, 2021, KRIIK organized a Press\nConference in which some concerns of KRIIK were made public regarding four\nimportant issues of the electoral process: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. the impact that Covid-19 will have on the organization of the electoral process, especially regarding the right of assembly and the right to vote;<\/li>
  2. the integrity of the candidates proposed by the electoral subjects; <\/li>
  3. opportunities for Albanians living abroad to exercise their right to vote, and <\/li>
  4. the use of state resources during the election campaign.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    On March 29, the First Interim Observation Report<\/strong> was\npublished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    KRIIK has engaged 22 long-term\nobservers across the country, who are observing key elements of the process and\nwill continue to follow it until its completion. In addition, KRIIK will engage\nabout 700 short-term observers to monitor the activity of the zonal election\nadministration commissions in all CEAZs of the country before and during\nelection day, as well as during the counting of votes; the process of opening,\nvoting and closing polling stations in 360 randomly selected polling stations\nacross the country, as well as the situation around polling stations and the\nvoting process in about 800 polling stations, with mobile observers on election\nday . Also, the ballot counting process will be observed in all ballot counting\nstations, from its beginning to its end. Observation of 360 randomly selected\npolling stations guarantees generalization of findings with an error margin of\n\u00b1 5%, with a 95% confidence interval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    KRIIK evaluates the electoral process using as criteria the internationally recognized standards for democratic elections, as well as the Albanian legal framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Findings from the observation process have been made public through a number of reports and public statements, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On March 11, 2021, KRIIK organized a Press Conference in which some concerns of KRIIK were made public regarding four important issues of the electoral process: (1) the impact that Covid-19 would have on the organization of the electoral process, (2) the integrity of the candidates proposed by the electoral subjects; (3) the right to vote for voters living abroad; and (4) the use of state resources during the election campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On March 29, the First Interim Observation Report<\/a> was published, covering the period from the day the election date was announced (September 6, 2020) to the start of the election campaign (March 25, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On April 24, the Second Interim Observation Report<\/a> was published, which covered the election campaign period (from March 26 to April 23, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During Election Day, KRIIK held four press conferences in order to inform the public about the election process during that day. On Monday, April 26, the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions on the Electoral Process<\/a> up to that point was published, including election day and the start of the counting process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During the counting process, three press conferences were held, in which the public was informed about the progress of this process. On Friday, April 30, 2021, the Preliminary Statement on the Counting Process<\/a> was published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In February 2022 was published the Final Monitoring Report<\/a>, covering from September 2020 (enactment of the date of elections by the President of the Republic) to January 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the Conclusion of the Monitoring Action KRIIK is organizing, on 16 February 2022, the NATIONAL CONFERENCE <\/u>“CIVIL AND POLITICAL SOCIETY; NECESSITY FOR AN INCLUSIVE DIALOGUE AND PARTICIPATION” – “The necessity for a Complete Electoral Reform; Financing of the Politics”<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Throughout its activity, the primary goal of KRIIK remains a critical and constructive spirit, identifying strengths and issues that require improvement, as well as providing recommendations for improvement. The Final Observation Report and the Report on the Financing of Electoral Subjects and Candidates will be accompanied by recommendations for improvement and will be followed by advocacy and awareness-raising activities in order to fulfill these recommendations, with the ultimate goal of strengthening the integrity of the electoral process in Albania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to the ongoing pursuit of contextual political and institutional elements, the observation of
    the technical elements of the process are focused on the conduct and decision-making of the Central Election Commission, as well as the conduct and law enforcement of the CEC administration; fulfillment of legal obligations by the Zonal Election Administration Commissions, institutions and other actors involved in the electoral process or that play a role in it; pre-election campaign conducted; the conduct of electoral subjects and institutions, as well as the use of state resources for electoral gain; etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Election Observation Action for the Albanian Parliament of April 25, 2021 is being carried out in cooperation with 33 partner organizations, which operate throughout the country:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n