Electronic newsletter of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly

Observation of the local elections

Local elections in Albania : Technical sheet

Number of premises visited : 291
Voters enrolled at the premises visited : 197 533
Total observation time : 252 hours
Observers’ conclusions on the voting procedure:
Good : 68 % ; satisfactory : 29 % ;bad : 3 %
Observers’ conclusions on the counting procedure :
Mild irregularities in 3 polling stations ; serious in one; unacceptable in one
Access to voting premises : easy 90 %
Hours premises were open for voting : respected 92 %
Premises suitable (size, equipment) : 90 %
Ballot boxes sealed : 99.7 %
Political composition of the committee : correct 98 %
Intimidation : none, 99.57 %
Voting procedure : Law respected, 93.5 % ; law not respected : 6.5 %

The Council of Europe delegation is satisfied with the conduct of the elections, although it regrets that there were some irregularities serious enough to warrant careful examination by the Central Electoral Commission. The delegation believes that the elections were free and fair.For the Council of Europe observers, the elections reflect the will of the electorate and are the product of thorough administrative and technical preparations that complied with the requirements laid down by the Parliamentary Assembly in September 1996.The delegation hopes to have made a contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Albania. It welcomes the fruitful co-operation with the Central Electoral Commission and all political parties.The Council of Europe delegation draws attention to the support and effective co-operation from several other election-monitoring delegations present in Albania.